Kokoro No Kaitou: Youko's Story :2:
by Dark Chobit
Summary: AU: YoukoOC Amaya is a princess, but she longs for the life of a normal person. So when opportunity arises, she helps Youko Kurama escape from the dungeon he's being kept in. Will she fall for the thief? Or will she be the one to steal his heart?
1. Caught

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 1   
  
~*~   
  
She certainly didn't turn out to be the way she seemed.   
  
She looked like a little girl, but she held an unfathomable power.   
  
One that stole my heart.   
  
Yes, she stole the heart of a thief.   
  
~*~   
  
It all started when I was out, checking out the place that Kuronue, Hiei and I would be raiding the next week. I was in my human guise, and I wore a hooded cloak so that no one would recognize me.   
  
Normally, everyone does.   
  
Silver hair, fox ears, a tail and all white robes.   
  
That's what the great Youko Kurama, the legendary bandit, looks like. What I look like.   
  
The place that we were to be raiding was the Takahashi Estate, home of the shogun by the same name. Hiei had heard some of his men bragging about a recent trade that their lord had made, and about how rich they were. And about how much more rich they were going to be once their lord married off his youngest daughter.   
  
So, we had decided to help ourselves to this wealthy lord. We figured that he probably had too much on his hands anyways.   
  
It was a nice estate, one that was huge and sprawling.   
  
I couldn't wait to raid it and steal all of its treasures, and maybe even a woman or two. I stopped my planning to look down from my spot in the tree overlooking the estate. Three samurai had just gathered beneath it, and were boasting about how many demons each of them had slain.   
  
"I've killed thirty!"   
  
"But I've killed fifty!"   
  
"I've killed a hundred!"   
  
I frowned. Should I go down there and kill all three of them? They were quite the nuisances. The question was, would anyone notice if these three mysteriously disappeared?   
  
"Ha! Well, I bet you that I could beat Youko Kurama!" Boasted the one that had claimed to have slaughtered one hundred demons.   
  
That was the final straw.   
  
I jumped down from my tree, landing next to the samurai that had dared to utter my name. I made quick work of him, slitting his throat with my bare hands before rising and turning to the other two.   
  
They both looked terrified, and I couldn't blame them.   
  
Who wouldn't be scared looking into the eyes of their murderer?   
  
But as I went to kill them, an arrow shot into my upper back, near my left shoulder. I yelped in pain, and spun around to see a boy standing there. He couldn't have been older than twenty, with get black hair and eyes. He was rather tall, and wore a samurai's armor. But the way he held himself told otherwise.   
  
I figured that he had to be Kenji, the son of the lord here.   
  
"Oi, who are you to murder my men?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.   
  
I smirked and pulled the arrow out of my shoulder. "Quite bold of you to be making demands to me, boy."   
  
He glared. "I asked you who you were!"   
  
I looked at the arrow that had been lodged in my flesh, covered with my blood. I snorted.   
  
"You, ningen, are quite lucky that this kitsune is in a good mood." I said, before looking up at him. "Because otherwise you and your entire estate would've been destroyed by now."   
  
This seemed to further enrage him. "Draw your weapon, fool! We fight!"   
  
I shrugged, trying to ignore the strange burning in my shoulder. I silently wondered if there had been some kind of poison on the tip of that arrow.   
  
I turned to face him, tossing my cloak to the side, and so began our battle.   
  
As we fought, I noted that he moved like he had fought against a demon before. He knew when I was going to strike. He was also pretty good with a sword, and dealt quite a bit of damage to me.   
  
It wasn't that I was weak or anything like that, but I felt more and more sluggish as the battle drew on. I started to see trails behind him as he moved, and he got a few more good blows in before I fell to the ground.   
  
I didn't understand what was wrong with me, only that my body didn't seem capable of moving on its own.   
  
The boy crouched down in front of me, grinning in a sinister way.   
  
"Like the poison on that arrow? My father makes it himself. It causes all sorts of nasty side effects. You'll be lucky to be able to move tomorrow, or even for the next week." He said.   
  
I growled, and he stood. He gave me a quick kick in the side, then started to walk towards the estate.   
  
"Boys, go ahead and bring him to the dungeon. It seems as though we've caught ourselves a kitsune."   
  
Two of the samurai picked me up, and started to walk me across the lawn to the home. I could hear the shouts of some samurai up ahead, yelling about how they had caught a kitsune. I felt to weak to fight against the men who were directing me. I could barely walk, and my entire ached and felt numb at the same time. My left leg had gone completely numb, so I favored my right leg as we went along. I felt my consciousness slipping away from me, and I struggled to stay awake as the halls blurred around me.   
  
I suddenly sensed a strange presence, and I weakly looked over.   
  
It was a girl.   
  
She was kneeling by her door, peeking sheepishly out. She wasn't necessarily the most beautiful woman out there, but she had a definite attractiveness to her. Brown hair that came down to her shoulder blades, and sea-green eyes. She wore a white yukata, which looked like that of a servant girl. Her expression was of sadness, as though she felt sorry for me. Her eyes widened slightly as soon as I looked at her, and she seemed surprised. One of the samurai with me suddenly lashed out, hitting me hard in the stomach with a wooden stick. I cried out and fell to my knees, coughing up some blood as I did. I could smell the girl's distress in the air, but I couldn't bring my gaze to hers again because the samurai started to drag me down the hallway.   
  
I soon forgot about her, and tended to more important matters.   
  
The samurai took me down a set of dark, dank stone steps that smelled of strong mildew. In my human form, my sense of smell was greatly diminished, which was saying a lot about the condition of this place. I wrinkled my nose.   
  
"Somebody needs to clean this place." I said, smirking. "It smells worse than you guys do."   
  
The samurai that had hit me earlier suddenly threw me to the ground and started to beat me with the same stick that he had used earlier. I couldn't fight back at all, because of the poison in the arrow. I silently cursed that boy, and vowed to break out and kill him once I did.   
  
He would pay with his life for this whole situation.   
  
The other samurai hauled me up again, and dragged my now heavily bruised and bloodied body into the cell all the way at the end of the hall.   
  
They roughly tossed me inside, and I cried out when I landed on my side, where I knew I had three broken ribs.   
  
"These will be your living quarters for a while, demon. Learn to like them." The samurai said gruffly before slamming the door.   
  
I glared after him, and considered summoning my plants to swallow him whole. But, the effects of the poison also made me feel ill to my stomach and extremely tired. So, I tried to make the best of the place by leaning against the wall in a sitting position, getting comfortable enough to sleep.   
  
If I was going to break out of this place, I'd need my strength.   
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes:** Yay! There's the first chapter from Youko's point of view. I thought that it was pretty funny about how his arrogance got him captured. ^____^   
  
**Hieiscarf** : Weird? How so? Well, I'm just glad that you said you loved my story!   
  
**Explosion** : That's okay, because an idea hit me the other day! There will be a sequel!!   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Sure, I'll check out your stories as soon as I get the time! Thanks for the review!!   
  
**Katie E.** : You should write a story! And don't worry - there's still this story and its sequel!!   
  
**Youko** : The best? *blushes* Thanks! There will be a part two, as soon as I'm done writing this one.   
  
**Abby** : Well, I've already got my idea for the sequel, but thanks for the suggestion!! And for the review!!   
  
**Kelly** : Hey, Kelly! I really enjoyed talking to you! I've decided not to follow LuckySpirit's advice, so don't worry!! Thanks for the review!   
  
Review!! 


	2. Prison Life

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 2   
  
~*~   
  
The next day, I didn't wake until what felt like late. There were no windows in the cell, so there was no way to be sure. But I knew that I had definitely slept for a full day. The cause of my waking was the door opening with a loud creak.   
  
I looked up and saw the girl enter the room. A guard put a torch into the holder beside the door so that she could see, though I knew that I didn't need it.   
  
I wondered what her purpose here was, and I watched her with caution.   
  
I saw her shiver slightly, and I wondered what the cause was. It certainly wasn't because of temperature - it was beastly hot in the room. Perhaps she was scared of me.   
  
I decided to find out her purpose for myself, because she didn't say anything. I figured that I should fall into my 'innocent and polite ningen boy' act, just until I knew who and what she was.   
  
"Can I help you, milady?" I asked, my voice dripping with politeness. I had discovered that there was no better way to win over a woman's heart than to treat her like a princess and be polite to her.   
  
She looked slightly embarrassed, and replied, "My name is Amaya, sir. And yours?"   
  
I eyed her again. I entertained the thought of using her for a hostage to escape, then decided that I was still too weak and groggy to do something like that. So, I just answered her question. "You may call me Kurama. How would you like me to address you?"   
  
Her jaw dropped slightly, and I wondered what I had said that was so shocking to her.   
  
I raised an eyebrow, and she blushed cutely.   
  
"Please, Amaya will do just fine."   
  
"Alright, Amaya-san." I said. She shivered again, and I wondered idly if I was the cause.   
  
It wouldn't be the first time.   
  
I decided to let her know that I remembered her. Women loved it when handsome men remembered them. "I saw you yesterday. You were the pretty woman in the yukata."   
  
They say flattery gets you nowhere, but whoever made up that phrase had some serious problems. Flattery gets you everywhere with women.   
  
My theory was proven - yet again - when she blushed for a second time.   
  
I smiled at this, and tried to sit up straighter, only to cry out and fall back from the pain of my broken ribs.   
  
I sensed her concern as she asked, "Daijobu ka?"   
  
"I'm fine. I'm sorry that you have to see me in such a state." I said, smiling at her again. "Normally, I don't lay around moaning."   
  
She giggled, and the laughter made her entire face light up. "Kurama-san, why are you in here, anyways?"   
  
I thought about what to tell her. The truth? Certainly not. That would only lead to more questions that I could not answer without killing her. So, I decided to play the innocent ningen still.   
  
"Apparently, they have mistaken me for someone else." I said. It wasn't entirely a lie. They had mistaken me for some kind of weak youkai with no experience. That would be their downfall.   
  
She nodded slowly, and she looked me over. I wasn't sure if it was for the sake of looking, or if she was looking at my wounds.   
  
"Did the guards…hurt you?"   
  
That answered that question. It surprised me, still. I'd never known a woman to ask me if I had gotten hurt, and yet still look so concerned.   
  
"Hai, milady. For refusing arrest. Or so they said." Again, I was lying, but that was what the kitsune race is known for.   
  
She put her hand on her hip, and she took a stance that showed determination. It was completely different from the shy girl she had been a moment earlier.   
  
"Well, that's hardly fair. They have fed you, right?" She asked.   
  
I shook my head, and sensed her surprise.   
  
"Not even a little bit?"   
  
I shook my head again. "Iie, they haven't fed me or gave me water."   
  
A wave of different emotions came from her - the main one being determination. She gave me a slight bow.   
  
"Well, I really must be going now, Kurama-san. Would it bother you if I visited you again tomorrow?" She asked.   
  
I smiled. "Not at all, Kurama-san. I would very much enjoy your company. It makes my situation seem much less dreary to have a beautiful woman such as yourself around to talk with."   
  
I saw her blushed, but she tried to hide it.   
  
Flattery. Worked every time.   
  
"Alright then. I'll come back tomorrow." She said, that cute blush still occupying her cheeks.   
  
She started to leave, and I called after her. "Oi, Amaya-san!"   
  
She turned back to me, a questioning look in her eyes. I smiled. "Oyasumi nasai, Amaya-san."   
  
She smiled back at me. "Oyasumi nasai, Kurama-san."   
  
She left, and I sighed, resting my head back against the wall. She seemed like a servant, but her posture and tone of voice gave me the feeling that I was wrong about that…   
  
_Kitsune!_ Rang a voice in my mind.   
  
I opened my eyes, and replied to Hiei's telepathic voice. _Yes, Hiei?_   
  
_Where the hell are you? You never came back last night._   
  
_I know. I got captured and poisoned._   
  
His voice sounded like he was chuckling. _Figures. Does the damsel in distress need rescuing?_   
  
I narrowed my eyes, and let my anger slip into my mind's voice. _Hiei…shut up, if you value your life. And no, I don't need you and Kuronue to come here. It isn't necessary. Just continue preparations, and I'll try to join you both on the morrow._   
  
_Sure. But if you change your mind, you know how to reach me._   
  
I felt his presence leave my mind, and I closed my eyes again. I figured that it was about time that I let sweet sleep claim me once more.   
  
~*~   
  
  
  
Author's Notes: Chapter 2 up! I'm so proud of this fic. ^___^ Youko's fun to write. He…has interesting thoughts, to say the least.   
  
**Thanks to those who reviewed!**   
  
**kaija katake** : Thanks!   
  
**Shessha's Crazy** : Here's more!   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Thank you!   
  
**youko** : Yes. It's the same story from Youko's POV. But, it also explains a hell of a lot more than Amaya's story does. ^____^   
  
**Suzaku no miko** : Thanks! As i said, I love writing from his POV! He's so funny! 


	3. Rescue!

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 3   
  
~*~   
  
The next day, the girl came back, as promised. Only this time, I had been up for some time before she arrived. I still couldn't move my body, nor could I find the strength to return to my original form.   
  
She was lead in by a guard, who gave me a glare of warning before shutting the door behind her. I noticed that she looked slightly fatter than the day before, as her stomach was bulging slightly. I wondered if it had been like that before, and I had just not noticed it because of my groggy state.   
  
She walked over to me, smiling as she did. She knelt beside me and reached into her obi, pulling out various parcels.   
  
So, I was right. She wasn't any fatter - she just had food in her obi.   
  
I realized how long it had been since my last meal, and felt the saliva build up in my mouth as she unwrapped the foods for me. My stomach told me to snatch the food and shovel down as much as possible, but I didn't want to offend the girl. That wouldn't help with my plan to use her later.   
  
She giggled, and I realized that I must have been making a face. I looked over at her.   
  
"Are you sure? I can share, if you'd like." I asked. In reality, I wanted her to say no, just so that there would be more for me, but I remembered the act that I was supposed to be putting on.   
  
She shook her head. "Iie. You're hungry. Please, go ahead." She waved a hand over the food, and I thanked Kami for her refusal.   
  
I gave her a lopsided grin, eager to start eating. "Well, _itadakimasu_, then."   
  
I started to shovel the food into my mouth, and my body was grateful for the energy that it provided. She smiled at me as I ate, and I stopped to look at her. I was confused about something.   
  
"But why are you doing this for me?" I asked. _There has to be a catch_, my mind said.   
  
She looked surprised. "I guess…because I've never had a real friend before this. I wanted to help you."   
  
I didn't reply to that, and started to eat again, only more slowly. I thought about what she had said. Friend? She thought of me as a friend? I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.   
  
I finished my food, and gave her a half smile. "Thank you, Amaya-san."   
  
"You're welcome."   
  
I decided to ask her. "Amaya-san? What day is it today?"   
  
"Well, Tanabata is in one week." She replied. She looked thoughtful, then wrinkled her nose at some unpleasant thought.   
  
"Amaya-san?" I asked.   
  
No reply.   
  
"Oi!"   
  
Again, no reply.   
  
I waved my hand in front of her face. "Oi! Oi, Amaya-san!" I said.   
  
"Gomen nasai, Kurama-san." She replied, finally snapping out of her daze. "I was just thinking about…things."   
  
I was curious. "Nani? What about?"   
  
She started talking. About everything from a possible husband that she didn't seem to like, and about how she was having these strange dreams about the moon. She had very interesting opinions on both, and I listened to her, never interrupting. I knew how much women hated to be interrupted.   
  
When she had finished, she brought her knees to her chest and bowed her head.   
  
"So, you don't want to marry this Akira, but your father is seriously considering it?" I asked.   
  
She nodded. "Yes…he's really a horrid man. He's very wealthy, but he comes across as either very lecherous or very greedy. I don't want to be married to that kind of man."   
  
"What kind of man _do_ you want to be married to?" I asked before I could stop myself.   
  
She looked surprised by my question, and I realized how forward that had sounded. I quickly apologized.   
  
"Gomen, Amaya-san. It wasn't my place to ask you such a thing."   
  
She looked down at the floor, blushing again. "That's alright. It just surprised me."   
  
We talked for a little more after that, about the Tanabata festival and other things. I told her that I wished that I could go. I figured that I might as well play along until I escaped.   
  
~*~   
  
For the next week, the girl would visit me and bring more food. I would eat, and then we would talk for about an hour or so.   
  
I started getting a fondness for the ningen, and she seemed to consider us friends.   
  
The girl said that she found out that she had to marry the old guy that she hated so much, and she told me about how they were to be engaged on the day of the Tanabata festival.   
  
But the best thing was, every day I got more and more like my old self, and I was almost completely healed.   
  
~*~   
  
On the day of Tanabata, I felt my strength completely return to me. The guards left to celebrate in the festival, leaving us prisoners all by ourselves. I decided not to break out immediately - I felt as though for some reason, the girl that had grown so fond of me deserved a goodbye at least.   
  
So, I sat around for most of the day, talking to Hiei mostly and asking him how everything was going. I informed him of my situation, and told him to postpone the raid of this place.   
  
I entertained the thought of taking the servant girl with me when I left, but decided against it in the end. She wasn't all that sexually attractive.   
  
~*~   
  
Later on in the evening, I was awoken when the door suddenly opened, and the girl stumbled into the dark room. I could easily sense the panic coming from her, as well as the fear.   
  
"Kurama-san! Kurama-san!" She exclaimed. I could see her searching for me through the darkness.   
  
"Amaya-san?"   
  
I felt the relief wash over her. "Kurama-san, we have to get out of here. It's Akira- he said he wants to kill you! I mean, someone wants to kill you; I'm not quite sure who. Oh Kami-sama, and he said he was going to eat me!" She exclaimed.   
  
Eat…? Akira? As in the snake youkai, who stole the powers of other demons by consuming their flesh? I decided to ask her. "Eat you? What are you talking about?"   
  
She tensed, and I also heard the footsteps approaching the cell. The panic came from her again, which caused me to feel distressed slightly as well. "Quickly, Kurama, if you want to live to see the daylight again, then you must come with me now! Please, for both our lives!"   
  
I knew that this was it. I was going to have to escape, and she was going to come with me.   
  
And I was going to have to reveal my true form.   
  
"Alright, alright. Stand away from the door, though." I said, standing up and ridding myself of my human guise. I felt relieved to have shed it, and nearly smiled as the wave of familiar sensations washed over my body - the enhanced eyesight, hearing, and all other senses.   
  
I saw her move away from the door, looking slightly confused as she did. When she was clear from the door, I summoned my plants to easily destroy it. I smirked at this, and wondered how they thought they could keep me locked up in this place with a mere wooden door to hold me in.   
  
A guard was standing right on the other side, and the light from his torch flooded into the room. I heard the girl gasp, and I quickly glanced over at her, a brief flash of reassurance passing through my face before I glared back at the guard.   
  
I could smell that he had wet himself, and it disgusted me.   
  
He trembled, and stuttered out, "K-Kami-sama! It's the bandit Youko Kurama!"   
  
He turned and started to run, but I was faster. I slit his throat in an instant, before an alarm could be raised - I had learned this from centuries of practice.   
  
But, I realized that there were more guards. They started screaming, and I growled when I realized that the entire estate must have heard them. They attempted to hit me, and I nearly laughed at how easily they fell by my hand.   
  
They weren't good enough to even lay a finger on me.   
  
I stopped and looked back at the girl. She looked terrified. I nearly rolled my eyes at her. "Don't sit there staring - that is, unless you like the idea of being a youkai's next meal."   
  
She struggled to her feet and stumbled into the hallway. She seemed to be in a state of shock.   
  
I saw more guards running towards us, and I cursed. I turned and quickly picked up the girl in my arms, running towards the guards and jumping right over them. I ran up the stairs until I reached the hall beyond. I stopped and took a deep breath, to rid myself of that nauseating smell of mildew and dirt. When I had had my first 'taste' of freedom, I quickly turned and started running down the winding corridors, which I had traveled the week before on my way here.   
  
I felt the girl grip onto the front of my shirt, possibly in fear.   
  
I broke through the front doors, and saw that the Tanabata festival was being held right in the front yard of the estate. The crowds of lower-ranking people turned to stare at us. I stopped and strained my ears for the sound of Hiei and Kuronue, while sending the former a telepathic message.   
  
_Hiei, I need you to come to the Takahashi manor as soon as possible. I'm escaping now, and I may need some back up.   
  
Kitsune, we're in the middle of a raid right now! You're on your own! We probably won't be back for another two days.   
  
Damn! Well, that's alright. A few ningens shouldn't be that hard to deal with._   
  
I started running towards the border of the estate, when a person suddenly stepped into my path. I quickly stopped, and narrowed my eyes when I realized who it was.   
  
"Kenji-oniisan!" The girl exclaimed.   
  
Well, _that_ was a shock.   
  
This bastard was this girl's older brother?   
  
He glared at me. "Kitsune, put my sister down now." He drew an arrow from his quiver and aimed it at me. "Or you'll pay with your lowly life."   
  
I smirked. I knew he wouldn't shoot me with his sister in my arms. "You want me to leave her here? Where she is in danger?" I said. "I think not."   
  
"Danger? My sister is not in danger as long as she is here." The baka aimed his arrow at me. "I'll protect her."   
  
I smirked again. "How can you protect your sister from demons who could kill you in an instant? Besides, I know damn well that you two aren't the least bit related."   
  
Shock passed over Kenji's face, and I felt the girl tense up in my arms, meaning that this was news to her.   
  
"What are you talking about? Kenji _is_ my brother!" She protested.   
  
I didn't look at her. Instead, I kept my gaze on Kenji. His scent had suddenly changed, and my smirk faded. "I have demon senses that far surpass your ningen ones. You have a different scent from him. All of them. You are not from this family."   
  
Kenji's shocked expression turned into a sneer. "So what? We aren't related. What do you care? It doesn't affect you."   
  
I snorted. "It doesn't really. But you do. Now get out of my way- I'm not afraid to cut you down."   
  
"Leave the girl here." He said. I wanted to slit his throat right then and there.   
  
"Like hell. You're only going to give her to that demon." I retorted.   
  
"So? It only means a bright future for me. I don't care what happens to her." Kenji said.   
  
I noticed that the girl had fainted, and I snorted again. Women were so weak sometimes! Had she been a demon female, she would've been on her feet and fighting this boy with everything in her for daring to say that. But, then again, ningens will be ningens.   
  
And once the girl wasn't aware of her surroundings, Kenji completely changed. His stance became one of a warrior, and his eyes flickered with red.   
  
So, that meant that the demon called Akira actually had some slight control over the entire state. That meant that they weren't entirely willing to hand over this girl. At least, I knew they wanted to keep her for other reasons than because they 'loved her'. Whatever Akira wanted from her - whatever power - her foster family wanted it as well.   
  
"Look, you bastard, hand over the maiden. I will _not_ ask again before I kill you, kitsune." He said.   
  
I snorted. I didn't have time for this kind of bull. I needed to get her away from this place as soon as possible.   
  
So, I ran.   
  
I ran right past him, and into the woods. However, I was intercepted by a few ningen guards. I made quick work of them by summoning some demonic plants to swallow them whole.   
  
Then, he appeared before me.   
  
A demon, in the disguise of a human.   
  
He was ugly and fat, with greasy black hair and beady eyes of the same color. He smelled strongly of human blood, and the stench of him nearly made me wretch.   
  
"You cannot have her!" He exclaimed.   
  
Kami-sama, his breath made his body smell like roses!   
  
I wrinkled my nose. "Well, I'm not going to let you have her."   
  
I started to summon my plants, and he seemed to…sense what I was going to do. He quickly jumped back, right as the plant had erupted from the ground to swallow him.   
  
Well, _that_ was a bit of a surprise for me too.   
  
He glared, and then hissed at me. "Fine! But I will find you, and hunt you down until the day that you give that wench back!"   
  
I glared after him as he ran away.   
  
_Coward…_   
  
I heard the girl whimper slightly, and decided to get home _sometime_ before midnight rolled around.   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes:** Yay! Another chapter done! This story reveals a lot more than Amaya's does, doesn't it?   
  
**Katie E.** : I'm glad! We all need a little Youko to brighten our days! And yes, in the beginning, he is a mean little perv. But that's why we love him! At least, I think…   
  
**Youko** : T___T Poor Amaya! Well, I enjoy writing his a little more too. It's funnier.   
  
**Shessha's Crazy** : Thank you! I try to be as accurate to his personality as possible.   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Yea, in the American version (and the manga) they spell his name 'Yoko'. But on a recent quest for a Japanese girl's name, I discovered something that horrified me - Yoko means 'good girl'. I didn't like that AT ALL. And besides, I think that 'Youko' looks better. Well, thanks for your review!   
  
**Story Weaver1** : Here you go! Thanks for the review!   
  
**Suzaku no miko** : Thanks you! I try! ^____^ And they're up to no good - what else could you expect from them? LOL   
  
**Review!!**


	4. First Day

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 4   
  
~*~   
  
We made it home shortly before midnight, and by then I was exhausted. I had used up so much energy just for the escape, and I felt like just falling asleep right then and there, in the clearing before the lair.   
  
I had done so before, and found it quite comfortable.   
  
However, this time, I had someone else to look out for, someone who might not like sleeping out in the clearing.   
  
She was still unconscious, and didn't stir at all as I walked loudly down the stairs. So, I took her back to my room and laid her on the futon. I looked around for a bowl of water or something. I needed to wake her up.   
  
Seeing that there was none, I decided to leave her alone for a minute while I got some water from the kitchen. It would have to be cold, seeing as how it had probably been sitting there for a while. Either way, I grabbed the bowl and walked back to my room.   
  
I crouched down beside the futon, and got my hand wet with the water. But before I splashed it on her, I stopped.   
  
It looked as though…some faint symbol was glowing on her forehead.   
  
I reached out to touch it, but it disappeared.   
  
I dismissed it as a figment of my imagination, and splashed some water onto her face. She gasped and sat bolt upright. She looked around for a second, and her eyes settled on me.   
  
She suddenly held her head, and looked as though she were in pain.   
  
"Daijobu ka?" I asked.   
  
"I'm fine. Just a headache." She replied. She looked around the room. "Where are we?"   
  
"My den." I said.   
  
She took in her surroundings, and I watched her as she did. I noticed that she had a scratch on her cheek. It had obviously stopped bleeding, but it looked recent nonetheless.   
  
She looked back at me and blushed. "Wh-what?"   
  
I reached out and gently touched the wound. She tensed, and seemed surprised at the contact.   
  
"What happened?" I asked, looking into her eyes. If Akira was the one that hurt her, I swore that he would pay with his life!   
  
She blushed again, and I brought my hand back to me.   
  
"I just fell, that's all. I'm a real klutz." She said.   
  
"Does it hurt?" I asked. I was relieved, in a way, that Akira hadn't been the cause.   
  
She shook her head, and her brown bangs brushed into her eyes. I resisted the urge to brush them away from her face. Why was I feeling this way?   
  
"I'd forgotten about it. What with everything else that's happened." She said.   
  
"It was kind of a big shock for you, wasn't it?" I remembered her 'brother's' words, and how they had affected her. She obviously cared about him a lot.   
  
She looked down at her hands, lying in her lap. "Just a little…I grew up with Kenji and the others, but now it turns out that I'm not even related to them? But why was I even with them in the first place? Who are my real parents?"   
  
I shrugged and stood, brushing off my pants. "I don't know, nor do I know how to find out."   
  
She sighed. "Well, what next then? I can't go back, what with Akira there. And I've never actually left the estate before."   
  
"Just stay here with me." I said, moving to sit on the edge of the futon. "There's plenty of space for you."   
  
I was surprised at my own words. Stay here? With we, some thieves? This was certainly no place for a princess. And besides, Kuronue and Hiei would never agree to let her stay with us. I decided to worry about that when the time came.   
  
I knew that I couldn't just leave her by herself.   
  
I glanced over at her. "Well?"   
  
"Oh! I'm sorry. I'd love to stay with you." She smiled at me, and I nodded.   
  
We were both silent for a minute or two, before she spoke up.   
  
"Kurama, I mean, Youko or- well, first things first, how should I address you now?" She asked.   
  
I chuckled. "You can call me whatever you want to. I don't care. I've been called Youko by some, Kurama by others, and a rare few just call me 'kitsune'. I'm fine with all of those, but I would prefer it if you didn't call me kitsune."   
  
She giggled, in a very girlish way. "Well, I've become rather used to calling you Kurama, so that's how it will stay."   
  
I nodded, and was silent again for a minute. I started to feel my eyelids droop, when she spoke again.   
  
"Kurama…what happened after I fell unconscious?"   
  
I thought about what to tell her. Surely, after hearing her 'brother' say that he didn't care about her, she wouldn't want to hear that he was under the control of the man she was supposed to marry. I decided to reveal as little as possible. "Nothing much. Kenji threatened me some more, and I just ran past him. Akira and some of his guards came as well, but they weren't much of a challenge. However, Akira ran away before I could kill him."   
  
"All of this with me still in your arms?" She asked. She seemed rather amazed at the fact.   
  
"They weren't very strong. I didn't need my hands to defeat them."   
  
She looked down at her hands in her lap, and sighed heavily. "This is really more excitement than I've ever had in my entire life."   
  
I smirked, deciding to lighten the mood a bit. "Well, I'm glad that you're having fun."   
  
"Fun? Ha! I've been engaged to a demon, broken a very wanted criminal out of jail, and I've discovered that my 'family' isn't really my family. I'm having the time of my life!" She said sarcastically. "And then I discovered that the dream that I've been having is of _you_, and-"   
  
I smirked. So, she wasn't immune to the charms of the great Youko Kurama. I decided to call her on it.   
  
"You dreamt about me, Amaya?"   
  
She went as red as a cherry, which I thought was rather funny.   
  
"Um, well, maybe…"   
  
I kept smirking. She was fun to tease. "You _have_ dreamt about me. It isn't wise to lie to a kitsune-we can _smell_ when people are being dishonest."   
  
She wrinkled her nose. "Well that's a bit odd."   
  
I shrugged. "It's useful." I smirked at her again. "Especially when you want to make a girl blush."   
  
She blushed again.   
  
_This is kinda fun, making her blush like this…_   
  
"So, Amaya, what _kind_ of dream did you have about me?" I asked, turning to face her and then sitting cross-legged on the futon.   
  
She glared. She seemed kind of angry at my comment. "A _normal_ one. You didn't even say anything."   
  
I rested my chin on my hand, and decided to tease her even more. "Normally, I don't."   
  
She blushed again. "No, no! I mean, you were just standing there, looking at me. You didn't say anything, and there was a full moon behind you." She noticed my expression (I was still giving her an amused look), and she added, "And you were _wearing clothes_, thank you very much."   
  
I started laughing, and I could feel that that made her uncomfortable. But I couldn't help it if she was so defensive!   
  
She glared at me, and I stopped to wipe tears from my eyes. "Sorry, it's just that normally, women don't dream about me _clothed_."   
  
She looked mortified. "H-Hentai! I would never dream about you like that!"   
  
I smirked. "Well then, we'll just have to find a way to change that, now won't we?" I noticed that once again she looked horrified, and added, "Relax, I'm only kidding."   
  
"It wasn't very funny." She retorted.   
  
I tried not to laugh.   
  
"Kurama?"   
  
"Hm?"   
  
"I…the Kurama that I became friends with, the one in the dungeon…" She paused for a minute to gather her thoughts. "You and him are the same person, right?"   
  
I nodded. "It was me, just in a human guise. So as not to confirm their beliefs that I was Youko Kurama."   
  
"Kurama…Akira…when he said that he wanted to…um, consume me, what did he mean? Does he really want to eat me?" She asked. Her voice betrayed her fear.   
  
"He meant that he wanted to eat you." I said simply. "Akira is a demon that can steal the abilities of others by consuming their flesh. You obviously had something that he wanted, even though I'm not quite sure what it is. You're a ningen, and ningens have no special abilities that a demon does not already possess. Unless," I eyed her suspiciously, "there's something that you aren't telling me."   
  
She looked surprised. She leaned forward slightly, tilting her head to the side. "Demo…what do you mean by that? Are you implying that I'm hiding something from you?"   
  
I snorted at that. "Other than being a Princess of the Takahashi estate? You told me that you were a servant."   
  
Her jaw dropped, and she quickly closed it again. "Ano…I liked it when you treated me as your equal. I thought…I thought that if I let you believe that I was a servant, that you'd treat me like a real person. Not a fake, porcelain doll that will break at the lightest of touches. I rather enjoyed not being called 'Hime-sama' or 'Amaya-sama'. I just loved being plain, regular, normal Amaya."   
  
I shrugged. "Well, to each his own."   
  
I could understand where she was coming from. I'd get fed up sometimes with being called 'Youko-sama' by some of my underlings.   
  
A loud rumbling broke the silence, and I stared at her for a moment before laughing. She blushed and held her stomach, obviously embarrassed that it had growled so loudly.   
  
"I guess that I'm a bit hungry. I haven't eaten since breakfast." She said.   
  
I smirked at her. "I can tell. Come on, let's go get you something to eat before you wake the dead."   
  
I got off of the futon, and walked over to the door. I realized that she wasn't following me, so I looked back at her. She got off of the futon as well. I opened the door and walked out and down the hall. She followed me, taking in the hall.   
  
I stopped walking to see if she was still following me or not. She walked right into me.   
  
She gasped and looked up at me. I thought that this was pretty funny too, and raised an eyebrow at her.   
  
"Gomen." She said.   
  
"If you think that this is amazing, then wait until you see the treasure room." I said, smirking.   
  
"Treasure room?" She echoed. Her blue-green eyes seemed to widen at the thought.   
  
I paused, making it look like I was considering something. "Well, I'm not so sure, actually. Because with the reaction you get from the hall, the treasure may give you a heart attack."   
  
She glared at me, and I decided to get her to dinner before she collapsed from hunger.   
  
I walked into the mess hall, and she followed me. She froze in her spot at the entrance, obviously amazed at the size of the room. I continued walking towards the back kitchen, knowing that she would snap out of her daze and follow me anyways.   
  
"What do you have to eat here?" She asked as she walked after me.   
  
"Well, you can pretty much make anything that you want to." I replied. I entered the back room and looked back at her.   
  
I sat down at the table, and she seemed to realize that I had no intentions of cooking food for her.   
  
I pointed to a cabinet. "There's plates in there, and there are chopsticks and knives in the drawer below it."   
  
She nodded and walked over to the ice chest, grabbing the necessary ingredients needed to make some kind of food. I watched as she got out things necessary to make sushi. Seaweed, rice, fish, the works. She then set the fish on the counter, and opened the utensil drawer. She pulled out a large knife, and started to cut up the fish. She seemed to notice that I was watching her every movement, taking in her appearance. Now that I looked at her again, she seemed to be much more attractive than before. I don't know why I noticed it then.   
  
My gaze seemed to bother her, and she accidentally cut her finger with the knife. She quickly dropped the knife and stuck her finger into her mouth.   
  
"Amaya?"   
  
She turned and faced me, and I quickly walked up to her. I gently took her hand and examined her finger. I chuckled.   
  
"You really are clumsy, aren't you?" I said, smirking at her.   
  
She frowned. "Thank you for pointing that out."   
  
I looked at her finger again, and thought about whether or not that would help. By that I meant healing her finger. It was worth a try. I brought her finger to my mouth.   
  
She blushed. "Wh-what are you doing?"   
  
I swear! Ningens were so…_slow_ sometimes! "We demons have gave the ability to heal ourselves at incredible speeds. I'm only helping you to heal faster." I explained.   
  
I put her finger into my mouth, and closed my eyes. She tasted…_good_. _Damn_ good.   
  
Very…sweet.   
  
She stiffened, letting me know that she was extremely shocked by my actions. I felt her wound heal, but kept her finger in my mouth a minute longer.   
  
Suddenly, Kuronue came bursting into the room, loudly proclaiming his presence with a hoot.   
  
"Oi, Kurama, I-" He stopped and stared at us. I still had her finger in my mouth, which made him grin.   
  
"Kurama, who's the lady? Brought another one home already? I would have thought that you'd wait at least a week after the last one." He said, putting his hands on his hips and chuckling.   
  
"Baka. She's a ningen- he obviously has her here for some other purpose _other_ than sex." Came Hiei's voice from behind Kuronue.   
  
I took her finger out of my mouth, but kept hold of her wrist. The girl seemed a bit shocked at what Hiei had said.   
  
"Hiei, Kuronue, you're back a little early, aren't you?"   
  
Hiei walked in.   
  
"Well, we decided to get back here before the rest of the men came back from the raid. They should be back in about three hours." He said.   
  
Kuronue walked over to the girl, and then looked at me.   
  
"So, kitsune, you going to introduce us to your woman?"   
  
She suddenly yanked her wrist from my grasp and put her hands on her hips. "I would appreciate it if you'd stop acting as though I were dumb, sir. I do not appreciate being talked about as though I were not in the room."   
  
So, the girl had some fire in her after all. That was good.   
  
Kuronue looked amused. "Oh, really? Forgive me, my lady."   
  
He took her hand and gently kissed it. She didn't look angry anymore, and instead, blushed.   
  
I growled at him in warning, and shoved him away from the girl. "Back off, Kuronue. She doesn't need your seducing."   
  
"Sorry, Kurama. But I believe that I was talking to the lady, not you." He retorted with a grin.   
  
"Atashi wa Takahashi Amaya." She said timidly.   
  
He looked at her. "Amaya, huh?"   
  
She nodded, and Hiei snorted.   
  
"That doesn't answer my question. Why does the kitsune want you here? You're a ningen."   
  
She looked over at me, and I smirked at him. I couldn't wait to see his reaction to the news.   
  
"Because, Hiei, she's going to be living with us."   
  
Both of them looked shocked. Kuronue stared at the girl with wide eyes, whilst Hiei looked infuriated.   
  
"What do you mean, living with us? What's wrong with you, kitsune?!" Hiei exclaimed. He jabbed an accusing finger at the girl. "She's a ningen! Ningens have families that worry about them and try to take them back! She'll only attract trouble!"   
  
_I don't think that Hiei's ever been this mad before…_   
  
I could smell the sadness coming from her. "I…have no family to care about me. They want to give me to the demon Akira."   
  
Hiei stopped yelling and looked over at her. "Akira?"   
  
She nodded.   
  
Hiei gave her a suspicious look. "What would a demon like Akira want with a ningen like you?"   
  
"I wouldn't know. I'm still trying to figure that out for myself." She said, looking down at her feet.   
  
The room fell silent. Kuronue scratched the back of his head, and opened his mouth to speak, but her stomach growled.   
  
She blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Gomen nasai, but I'm really very hungry."   
  
Kuronue grinned and walked over to the counter where she had been preparing her sushi. "Well, we'll just have to fix that now won't we?"   
  
"Oh, you don't have to do that for me! I could make the sushi for myself." She protested.   
  
He waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. I normally cook for those two lugs anyways." He smirked at the girl. "And I certainly wouldn't mind cooking for a beautiful lady like yourself."   
  
"Thank you, Kuronue-san." She smiled again, obviously flattered by my friend's seducing.   
  
He set about to preparing the sushi for her, and I rolled my eyes.   
  
"Always the charmer, eh, Kuronue?" I said. He just grinned.   
  
The girl looked back to where Hiei had been standing, but seemed surprised to see that he was no longer there.   
  
I flopped onto one of the cushions again. "Hiei isn't very social."   
  
She sighed. "He doesn't like me very much, does he?"   
  
"Hiei is always like that- even to us. He just isn't a people person." Kuronue said.   
  
"Is there any particular reason as to why?" She asked, sitting on the cushion beside me.   
  
"Well, he had a rough childhood. He's the bastard son of a koorime and a fire demon, and because of that he was banished from his homeland." I said. I shrugged. "I guess if anyone had to go through what he did, then they'd end up the same way."   
  
"His parents weren't married?" She asked, looking quite surprised.   
  
"Nope. Koorime are a self-reproducing, all female race of ice maidens." Kuronue said as he rolled the sushi in seaweed. "They don't like males, of any race. But Hiei's father was a fire demon, so that made it even worse."   
  
He put all seven little sushi onto a plate and set it down in front of her. She smiled at him.   
  
"Arigato gozaimasu." She said.   
  
He shook his head. "There's no need to be so polite here, you know."   
  
She nodded slowly and turned to her meal. "Itadakimasu." She picked up the chopsticks that had been lying on the side of the plate and picked up one of the sushi. She ate it, and smiled at him.   
  
"Suki desu, Kuronue-san."   
  
He grinned. "Good."   
  
I rolled my eyes again. Great! My friend was moving in on her! I sent him a glare in warning. After several minutes, he seemed to finally get the fact that this girl was _mine_ and left the room. So, that just left the two of us sitting at the table.   
  
I had my eyes closed, and she ate in silence. When she finished, she started to look around for the sink. She brought her plate over, and then looked around once more. She finally looked back at me.   
  
"Kurama, do you perhaps have anything that I could use to wash my plate?"   
  
I opened one eye. "In the drawer to your right."   
  
She nodded and opened the drawer, pulling out a towel. She poured some water into the sink and rolled up her yukata sleeves. She started scrubbing the plate; enough to get it decently clean. She then dried it, and walked over to the cabinet that held the plates, putting hers away. She then turned back to me, hands on her hips triumphantly.   
  
"Do you know that that's the first time I've ever cleaned my own plate?" She asked, grinning like a child.   
  
I chuckled at that. "Princesses really do live sheltered lives, don't they?" I stood and stretched. "I'm going to bed now. It's late, and I need to get some sleep before dawn comes."   
  
She seemed surprised, and then blinked. She looked down at her wrinkled and slightly dirty yukata.   
  
"Would you happen to have an extra yukata that I could sleep in?" She asked, pointing to her own. "I could use a fresh one, if it's not too much trouble."   
  
I let my eyes trail over her body - though, she probably thought that I was looking to make sure that she needed a new yukata. In reality, I was looking for the sake of looking. I nodded. "We could borrow one from one of my men's rooms. One or two are female, and they wouldn't mind sparing a sleeping yukata or two."   
  
I started walking back out to the hall, and she scampered after me. I kept going, past my room and further down the hall, stopping beside a door that had a flower engraved into the wood. I knew that this was Leiko's room, an ex-flame of mine. She had joined our band after we had had our relationship. I opened the door and entered, while she stayed outside. I got the yukata from one of her drawers, and returned a minute later holding a white yukata. I tossed it to her.   
  
She caught it and smiled. "Arigato. Demo…where can I change?"   
  
"In my room." I replied. I looked down at her, and saw that she had a strange look on her face. I sighed. "Kami-sama, I'll be outside of the room! Not _in_ it while you're changing."   
  
She smiled. "I assumed that from the start."   
  
We walked back to my room and she walked in, closing the door behind her. I waited outside, cursing Kami for making wood so unlike water, which one could see right through. After a minute, she said that I could come in.   
  
I walked into the room and stretched. "Well, all we have to do is find you a place to sleep."   
  
She shrugged. I looked around the room, realizing this predicament. "We aren't very well prepared for guests, and I can't just let you sleep on the floor. And I'm not going to sleep on the floor…so that leaves only one option."   
  
She seemed confused, and I sighed. "Things go right over your head, don't they? We share the futon."   
  
She looked over at the futon. "It's big enough, I guess. But it will work."   
  
Did she realize what she was doing to me? She was asking me to sleep in the same bed as a beautiful woman, and _not_ sleep with her.   
  
She might as well have been asking me to stab myself in the foot.   
  
So, I decided that the best way to avoid the problem was to go straight to sleep, and keep my face in the pillow - that way, I couldn't see her nor smell her scent so close to me. So, I walked over to the futon and flopped down onto it, burying my face into the pillow. She seemed to find this funny, and giggled. She got onto the other side of the futon, and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She fell asleep shortly after, and I wasn't that far behind.   
  
What a day…   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes:** Well, looks like Youko's having a bit of a change of heart about Amaya. I've noticed that some of you reviewers seem to be reading this story before you read Amaya's. Is that true? Because Amaya's gives more descriptions of the characters, and how she feels, whilst Youko's is more revolved around women and fighting. You should really read Amaya's first before you read this one.   
  
  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter:   
  
**Shessha's Crazy **: Wow. I've never seen it spelled that way for him. It spells it 'Yoko' on my DVD. Hm… Well, the only place that I've seen it spelled that way is for Devil Hunter Yhoko. And she's a girl. Still, it's really a matter of preference. Thanks for your review! ^_____^ You were the first to review for the last chapter!   
  
**Story Weaver1** : Now you know! ^___^ And yes, he falls for her quite a bit sooner than she does for him. But he doesn't like to admit it.   
  
**Explosion** : Thank you!   
  
**Suzaku no miko **: Yes, we ALL love those bad-ass kitsunes. And their friends. ^_____^ I have a poster of him on my wall, and he always looks like he's about to do something bad, because he's got that mischievous smirk happening.   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Thank you!   
  
**UltaAnimeFangurl2004** : Wow…were you hyper when you reviewed? Actually, I don't like coffee…only hot cocoa. Thanks for the review!   
  
Review!! 


	5. Problems With Hiei And A Hot Spring

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 5   
  
~*~   
  
The next morning, I awoke rather early. I groggily looked over at the girl, and saw that she was still sleeping soundly. I dragged myself off of the bed, and stretched.   
  
A knock came at the door, and I quickly opened it before the person could wake the girl.   
  
I glared at Kuronue, and he blinked in surprise. He looked past me to the bed, and then back to me.   
  
"You slept with her already?" He said. "From the way you were glaring at me yesterday, I thought that you were going to wait for at _least_ twenty four hours."   
  
I stepped outside the room, closing the door behind me. "Kuronue, we slept together, but we didn't _sleep_ together."   
  
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"   
  
I rolled my eyes and started walking down the hall. "I mean, we slept on the same bed, but that's all we did."   
  
Kuronue put his hand on my forehead, and made a fake gasp. "Kurama! Are you feeling okay? Do you need me to call the doctor?"   
  
I growled and slapped his hand away. "Stop that!"   
  
He laughed. "Sorry, it's just that for you to sleep in a bed with a woman and not do anything other than sleep…well, either you were exhausted, or sick."   
  
I sighed. "I wanted to, Kuronue but…"   
  
"But?"   
  
"I don't know. She's…" I sighed. "Do you know what I mean?"   
  
Kuronue paused. "No. Care to explain?"   
  
I thought about it for a minute. I wasn't sure _why_ I didn't just take her. She was…different. Any other woman would not have been a problem for me, but this girl…Amaya…was different.   
  
I couldn't just take advantage of her like that, no matter how badly I wanted to.   
  
We walked down to the kitchen, where Hiei was already waiting.   
  
"Oi, kitsune, we need to talk." He said as I sat down.   
  
Kuronue had obviously made breakfast, as the delicious looking food was spread across the table. I licked my lips, and then served myself.   
  
"Kitsune!" He exclaimed, upset that I had ignored him.   
  
"Hiei, she's not going anywhere." I said, meeting his gaze. "She has nowhere else to go."   
  
"So are you just going to pick up every stray human girl that comes along and offer her a home here? What if she escapes? And tells everyone where our lair is?" He said. "What will you do then?"   
  
"She wouldn't do that." I said defensively.   
  
"How would you know? How long have you known her? A week, maybe a little more?" He hissed.   
  
I realized that he had a point. "Well then, what do you suggest, Hiei?"   
  
This seemed to calm him down a bit, and he sat back. Kuronue sat down beside him, and started eating his meal.   
  
"I suggest that we kill her." He said. "Dead men - or women - don't talk."   
  
I stared at him. How could he even _suggest_ killing her?!   
  
He seemed to notice my expression, and glared. "Would you rather that that little wench get us captured? In case you haven't noticed, we're all very wanted criminals."   
  
"But we can't kill her!" I exclaimed.   
  
"Yes we can. And I will. Maybe then her little spell will wear off, and you'll return to your normal self."   
  
"She didn't cast a spell on me, Hiei! She's completely human, and has no supernatural powers whatsoever!" I growled, pounding my fist onto the table.   
  
"Guys, guys." Kuronue said. "Calm down. Let's talk about this later."   
  
Hiei stood. "I'm done talking."   
  
He left the room, and I stood as well.   
  
"Kuronue, let's go see if she's alright. I don't like the way that Hiei stormed out of here. He may actually try to kill her." I said.   
  
He nodded and stood too. We started walking down the hall, towards my room.   
  
_Kami-sama, if Hiei lays even one finger on that girl, then I'll slit his throat! _   
  
We walked in silence, and when we were about halfway to my room, I stopped.   
  
"Y-You don't want to eat me. I'm too, uh, scrawny to be eaten. I wouldn't taste very good." Came a voice from around the corner.   
  
I quickly walked ahead, and watched as the girl backed away from some demons. I could tell that she was terrified, even without my advanced sense of smell.   
  
There were three youkai - two onis, and one pig demon.   
  
The blue oni laughed. "I call the legs."   
  
"They say that the flesh of a maiden is tender." Chuckled the red oni.   
  
She took another step back, and bumped into me. She gasped and looked up at me. However, I was glaring at those three youkai.   
  
The pig demon gulped. "Y-Youko-sama! Uh, we were just about to catch this ningen. She somehow managed to get into the lair."   
  
I resisted the urge to rip out his throat right then and there. How dare he threaten her!   
  
"And what exactly did you plan on doing with her, once you caught this girl?" I asked.   
  
"Uh, eat her, sir?" The blue oni replied.   
  
I put my hands on her shoulders, and moved her to the side to Kuronue, never once taking my eyes off of those three demons.   
  
"Kuronue, take Amaya. I need to have a 'chat' with these youkai."   
  
He nodded, and led her away.   
  
The three demons trembled.   
  
"So, you were planning to eat her, huh?" I asked, circling around them.   
  
The pig youkai nodded shakily. "H-Hai, Youko-sama."   
  
I felt the anger rising within me. "And what might your names be? I'd like to have them put on your gravestones, if there's anything left of you when I'm done."   
  
"I'm Noh, sir." Said the pig demon.   
  
"And I'm Kin." Said the blue oni.   
  
"And I'm Kahn." Said the red one.   
  
"Now, you three, you can start begging for your lives now." I said, still circling them.   
  
"Please, Youko-sama, we didn't do anything!" The pig demon pleaded.   
  
"Yeah! We always eat humans! They're so tasty…" Said the red oni.   
  
That was the final straw.   
  
I was surprised at how brutally I killed those three. They were barely recognizable by the time that I had finished with them. And here I was, soaked in their wretched blood.   
  
I decided to go and take a bath.   
  
~*~   
  
I took my bath, and even soaked in the hot spring for about an hour or two. I got dressed, and then started to head towards the kitchen. I decided to take the long route, and say down to eat my lunch.   
  
Kuronue wasn't there, and neither was Amaya.   
  
I wondered idly where they were.   
  
I finished my meal, and decided that he could be trusted around her.   
  
I started walking to the hot spring, where I had left my bundle of bloody clothes. I figured that I might as well wash them - these types of robes (infused with special spells to protect oneself) - were rare.   
  
And I sure as hell was not going to where the fabric stained by those bastards.   
  
I arrived at the hot spring, and opened the door.   
  
And promptly stared.   
  
Amaya was standing there, in the middle of ringing out her wet hair. She was naked, from head to toe, and the water glistened on her body.   
  
Here eyes widened in shock, as I continued to stare at her body.   
  
She was…_perfect_.   
  
In every little way that can be described.   
  
And any minor lust that I had had for her before was now at least ten times as prominent as before.   
  
In fact, several extremely naughty things ran through my mind, and I felt a nosebleed coming on.   
  
"Uh…" Was all that came out of my mouth.   
  
She screamed, and ducked back into the water, covering herself.   
  
"Hentai!" She screamed. "Get out, get out, GET OUT!"   
  
I quickly backed out of the room and pinched my nose to keep it from bleeding. I crouched down beside the door, and willed the bleeding to stop.   
  
Damn!   
  
Where had she been hiding that well filled-out figure?   
  
A minute or two later, she came out of the room. I could sense her anger, and I couldn't blame her.   
  
"Ano…Kurama?" She asked.   
  
I didn't look at her. I knew that if I did, it would make more and more naughty thoughts come, and my nosebleed would get worse.   
  
"I didn't know that you were in there." I said.   
  
"Kurama?" She crouched down beside me, and I made a point not to look at her, despite the fact that I could feel the heat radiating off of her body.   
  
So close…   
  
"Why are you pinching your nose?" She asked, sounding as though she really had no clue.   
  
She probably didn't, and I wasn't about to tell her how I had been thinking about her.   
  
"Because."   
  
"Because why?" She countered.   
  
"Because…because." I said, feeling stupid saying that.   
  
"Well that made a lot of sense." She said, rolling her sea-green eyes.   
  
"Keh." I replied.   
  
"Kurama?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"I…wanted to thank you for saving me this morning." She said, as she looked down at the floor. "If you hadn't come when you did, then I'd be…" She drifted off, and I knew what she wanted to say.   
  
That she would've been dead.   
  
"You're welcome." I said, still keeping my eyes forward, and anywhere but on her.   
  
She sighed. "Kurama, why won't you look at me? I forgive you for walking in."   
  
"Because…you'll only make my nosebleed worse." I said.   
  
"What? Nosebleed?" She sounded confused. "Why would it make your nosebleed worse if you look at me?"   
  
I snorted (as best as I could snort while pinching my nose). "You're clueless about everything, aren't you, Amaya?"   
  
"Well, excuse me for being considerate." She stood, and I finally felt calm enough to look up at her. She had her hands on her hips, and she glared at me.   
  
_Kami-sama, how I wanted to touch those hips..._   
  
"You should think about being considerate sometime! Here I am, worried about your health, and all you can do is be sarcastic!" She continued.   
  
I stood up and she seemed surprised. "Well I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" I growled.   
  
She pointed at my nose. "Kurama…"   
  
I quickly pinched it again, and glared at her. "Shut up."   
  
She sighed. "I'll never understand the minds of men. One minute you think that a man the nicest person that you've ever met, then the next he acts like a complete and total jerk." She growled in frustration and I was surprised. I hadn't thought that she was capable of growling at someone.   
  
She turned on her heel and started walking away.   
  
"Matte, Amaya!" I called, walking after her.   
  
She ignored me and walked all the way back to my room, and threw open the door. She walked in and closed the door behind her, and I quickly ran over.   
  
I hear her throw her things onto the floor, and then a soft thump.   
  
I opened the door, and entered, to see her laying on the bed with her face in the pillow.   
  
"Amaya?"   
  
I moved to the futon, and shook her shoulder.   
  
"Go away." She said, though it came out muffled into the pillow.   
  
I had to chuckle at that. "It's my room, Amaya. Technically, it should be me telling you to go away."   
  
She peeked out at me from the pillow. "Do you really want me to leave?"   
  
I was surprised by her question. "Leave? No. I don't want you to leave."   
  
She sat up, and gave me a hopeful look. "Demo…does that mean that we're friends?"   
  
"Weren't we already?" I said, trying to make it so that she wasn't mad at me anymore.   
  
She smiled. "I just wanted to hear you say it. I figured that you thought I was annoying."   
  
"No. I don't think that you're annoying."   
  
"I'm glad…" She smiled again. "Kurama?"   
  
"Hm?"   
  
"Can I ask you something?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"Can we…can we go outside?" She asked, still looking hopeful.   
  
I was confused. "Outside? Outside of the room?"   
  
"No, I mean _outside_ outside. Like out under the stars?" She said, spreading her arms out to emphasize her point.   
  
I chuckled. "If you really want to."   
  
"I do!" She exclaimed.   
  
I stood and offered her my hand, which she took. I helped her off of the bed and led her to the door, letting her hand go first. I stopped there, and thought about something.   
  
I turned around and faced her. "So, does this mean that you've forgiven me?"   
  
"For being a jerk? No." She said.   
  
My face fell, and I stared at her.   
  
"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself." She added.   
  
I blinked, but then rolled my eyes. "Women are complicated."   
  
She giggled and I started walking down the hall to the entrance of the lair. She followed me, and we went up the stairs together, and we were both silent as we went.   
  
We made it to the clearing, and she walked past me into the middle of the space. She spread out her arms and twirled in a circle, and I could feel the happiness coming from her.   
  
She sighed contentedly, and I couldn't help but laugh at that display. She acted as though it had been years since she had seen the outside world!   
  
"You're really happy, aren't you?" I asked, crossing my arms.   
  
She turned back to me and smiled. "Yeah! I've loved the outdoors ever since I was a child!"   
  
I walked over to her, and sat down cross-legged on the ground. She smiled again and gracefully folded her yukata under her before sitting with her back against mine.   
  
"Kurama, what was your childhood like?" She asked, leaning her head back.   
  
"Nothing really interesting. I was pretty much on my own my entire life. I would spend my days training, and I eventually got bored with that after I mastered the control of plants. That's when I started learning how to break codes and spells. Basically, I became a thief." I replied, a little sleepy.   
  
"So, you became a thief out of boredom?" She asked.   
  
"Yeah. What do princesses do during their childhoods?" I asked teasingly.   
  
"Well, nothing special. We're treated like normal kids until we reach the age of five. That when the stupid lessons start. Ikebana, tea ceremony - you know, the things that a proper wife is supposed to know." She replied.   
  
"Were you any good at it?" I asked, curious.   
  
She laughed. "Nope! I was terrible at it. My flowers looked miserable, and my tea serving was horrendous. I was more suited to playing in the woods than to learning to be the proper wife."   
  
I was quiet for a minute, and thought about that. Playing in the woods, huh? Not how I imagined a princess spending her time. And the thing about being a proper wife…I thought that she would be, just not for a lord.   
  
Maybe for someone of a lower rank.   
  
Like a thief or something…   
  
I stopped and snapped myself out of that train of thought.   
  
_What the hell? I've never thought about something like that before._   
  
I was never going to get married. EVER.   
  
Too many women would go to waste.   
  
When you were married, you were tied down to one woman, never allowed to even _look_ at another.   
  
"Kurama, what are you thinking about?" She asked.   
  
"I'm thinking about…things. About what's happened over the past few days." I said slowly.   
  
She nodded. "What about it? How do you feel?"   
  
I started telling her about certain things - about how I thought that maybe it was too dangerous for her to stay here. After a minute or so, I noticed that her breathing had evened out, and she wasn't responding to anything that I said. I was confused.   
  
"Amaya?"   
  
There was no reply.   
  
I slowly turned around, and she fell over. I quickly caught her, and saw that she had fallen asleep. I chuckled slightly at that - I hadn't realized that I was that boring. I stood and picked her up bridal style, and she sighed lightly in her sleep. I started walking back to my room, and I opened the door with my foot. I set her down on the futon, and then got down on the other side.   
  
My own fatigue caught up with me, and I fell asleep shortly after.   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes**: There's another chapter down! Woohoo! By the way, does anybody else agree with me when I say that John Mayer's song "Your Body Is A Wonderland" is the best song on the planet? I love it! In fact, I like all of his songs!   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed:   
  
**Story Weaver1** : I hope that you do look into her story! Hers is more of a happy-fairy-tale-romance, while Youko's is…uh…pretty much the opposite.   
  
**Explosion** : Every once in a while, I'll feel really bad for him too…then realization kicks in, and I start laughing.   
  
**Suzaku no miko **: Damn straight he's sexy!! LOL Thanks for the review!!   
  
**UltaAnimeFangurl2004** : Your reviews are so fun to read, LOL! Thanks for the review!!   
  
**DarkVixenNIsha **: Thank you, Nisha-chan!! (Do you mind if I call you Nisha-chan?) I try to "Think like Youko" while I write. Um, that sounded kinda weird, didn't it? LOL!!   
  
**Katie E. **: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, it was rather…interesting from his POV. But now you see the even funnier part from his POV. Hope you liked Youko's weirdness. LOL   
  
Do I even need to repeat it for every chapter? 


	6. News From Akira

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 6   
  
~*~   
  
The next morning, I slept in later than normal. After the day before, I guess I was just exhausted.   
  
Well, I was awoken by a presence lingering over me.   
  
And in my training as a thief, that meant either an assassin or someone who really didn't know how to approach me while I was sleeping.   
  
Either way, I sat bolt upright, and winced in pain as I hit heads with Amaya.   
  
She fell back, wincing and clutching her forehead, as I rubbed my own.   
  
"Damn it, Amaya! What were you doing?!" I demanded.   
  
She had her eyes squeezed shut. "Ow…that hurt! Here I was, thinking you looked so peaceful, and then you crack your forehead against mine when you sit up! Itai…"   
  
I sighed, and she opened one eye. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Well, looks like we're both going to have bruises."   
  
I glared at her. "Yours is going to be worse. Remember? Demons heal faster than ningens. I'd say you're going to be purple and blue for at least three weeks, depending on how fast your body heals."   
  
"Great…just great." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "And I'm assuming that you'll only take a day?"   
  
"No. About two or three." I replied. "I'm not some kind of god. I bruise too. It just doesn't last for very long. And it doesn't turn nasty colors." I smirked at her.   
  
She stood up and glared at me. "Oh, shut up. At least we'll _ both_ be black and blue for three days. Then I'm on my own."   
  
I stood as well. "Let's go get some breakfast. I'm starving."   
  
She nodded and followed me down the hall to the kitchen. I saw that Hiei and Kuronue were already there, and Amaya offered them a warm smile.   
  
"Ohayo, Kuronue, Hiei-san." She said, giving a small bow to Hiei. She was probably sucking up to him.   
  
"Ohayo, Amaya." Kuronue replied. He did a double take at her. "What happened?"   
  
She blushed. "Well, Kurama and I sort of hit heads this morning."   
  
I snorted and sat down on one of the cushions.   
  
Hiei smirked, and looked down at me, his arms folded over his chest. "So, kitsune, I heard that you walked in on her yesterday."   
  
I remembered what I had seen, and my face heated up very slightly.   
  
"Shut up, Hiei." I growled back.   
  
"And I heard that she managed to give you a nosebleed." Hiei continued. He enjoyed teasing me.   
  
"I said shut up." I said, avoiding eye contact with Hiei. I was pissed at him.   
  
Hiei looked pointedly at her. "Who would've thought that she'd have a nice body under that baggy yukata? Good enough to give the great Youko Kurama a nosebleed."   
  
"I SAID SHUT UP!" I yelled, now making eye contact with Hiei as I yelled at him.   
  
She looked confused now, but Kuronue knew exactly what we were talking about - he had his jaw dropped.   
  
He then looked over at her, still with that look of amazement. "Amaya…you gave him a nosebleed?"   
  
She shook her head. "What's wrong with a stupid nosebleed? You're all acting like it's such a big deal!"   
  
Hiei smirked and sauntered over to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She looked uncomfortable, and he looked at her as though she was being stupid.   
  
_Kami-sama, please don't let him say what I think he's going to say. _   
  
"When men get nosebleeds, it means-" He started.   
  
"Hiei, don't you dare tell her what that means!" I shouted, standing up and pointing a finger at him.   
  
"-that he was having a naughty thought about a woman."   
  
I was mortified. "Hiei, why'd you have to go and tell her that?!"   
  
Hiei smirked at me. "Because she has the right to know." He looked back at her. "And seeing as how he never blushes or gets nosebleeds, then it must have been something _really _naughty."   
  
He let go of her shoulders and pushed her away from him, and she stared at the fire demon in shock.   
  
Kuronue cleared his throat, and then tried to give her a smile to clear away the awkwardness of the moment. "Oi, Amaya, do you want to cook us breakfast? Using what I taught you yesterday?"   
  
She snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. "That would be nice, Kuronue! I'd love to cook for you all!" She smiled back at Hiei and myself. I was still staring at him, angry at him for saying that to her. And also, I was embarrassed that she had found out about what nosebleeds meant.   
"Hn. I don't trust you to cook my food." He said, eyeing her with scrutiny. "You'll try to poison me."   
  
"I would never!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and stomping one foot onto the ground.   
  
"Kuronue started to snicker, and she glared at him. "And just why are you laughing, Kuronue?"   
  
He shook his head, and then started to laugh even harder. He actually doubled over with his laughter, clutching his sides, with tears of mirth streaming down his cheeks.   
  
She made a cute pout. "Kuronue…why are you laughing?"   
  
He wiped his tears, and opened his mouth to speak, only to start laughing again.   
  
Hiei snorted. "He says that you looked like an old married woman, bossing her husband around. He seems to find that amusing."   
  
She turned and glared back at Hiei, her hands still on her hips. "And how would you know?"   
  
"I'm a telepath."   
  
"A tele-what?" She asked, obviously confused again.   
  
"Baka." He snorted.   
  
"She's not stupid, she just hasn't had much experience with the outside world." I said. I turned to her. "A telepath is someone that can read the minds of others, and hear their thoughts. They can also talk to you through their mind."   
  
She nodded.   
  
"It does. Especially when there's a baka like you in the room. I'm trying to block out your stupidity." Hiei said, putting emphasis on the word baka.   
Kuronue stopped his laughing and stood, glaring at Hiei as well. "Hey, don't insult her. If you do, you'll have two angry youkai on your ass before you can cry for your mother."   
  
"Baka. I never cry. And I could beat yours and the kitsune's asses any day." Hiei said, an arrogant tone to his voice.   
  
She sighed and rubbed my temples. "Onegai…stop fighting."   
  
Hiei snorted and sat down on one of the cushions. "Hurry up and make breakfast, onna."   
  
She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, then seemed to decide not to. She started preparing breakfast for us.   
  
When she was done cooking, she set out the food onto the table, and served all three of us first. She handed us each a pair of chopsticks, then sat down herself. She smiled eagerly at us as we broke their chopsticks.   
  
I took a bite of the fried eggs, as did Kuronue. We both gave her our approval. Hiei just stared blankly at his miso soup.   
  
She looked over at him. "Hiei-san…aren't you going to eat your food?"   
  
He snorted. "I refuse to eat this shit."   
  
She glared at him. "You _will_ try it."   
  
I looked slightly surprised, and Hiei's eyes flashed for a split second. That symbol! It had just appeared on her forehead again! The crescent moon…only this time, it was slightly brighter, and easier to see.   
  
"Fine." He said, taking the miso and eating it.   
  
She seemed surprised, but then grinned in triumph and served herself some food. We all ate in silence after that.   
  
However, about halfway through the meal, Hiei suddenly looked shocked. He got up from the table and spit out his food into the sink. We all stared at him in shock.   
  
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What the hell was I doing?" He muttered before glaring back at Amaya. "What the hell did you do to me?"   
  
She looked confused. "Nani? I didn't do anything! What do you mean?"   
  
He turned and stomped out of the room, leaving us all to wonder what he had meant.   
  
~*~   
  
After breakfast, I left to go to the library to look up that symbol. Amaya stayed with Kuronue, and I didn't even hear from Hiei. Still, I shut the door and started searching for a certain book that we had acquired on a recent raid - a book of symbols and signs.   
  
It took me about five hours (the library houses thousands upon thousands of unorganized scrolls and books), but I eventually found the leather bound book (_Symbols: Marks of the Supernatural_) amongst the scrolls and such. So, I sat down at a table and propped my feet onto it, flipping open the large pages of the book.   
  
Tsuki.   
  
Moon.   
  
That was what I started to look for, because that was what the symbol on Amaya's forehead had been.   
  
It took me quite a while to find the right page, and I assumed that it was almost dinnertime by the time I did. I read the page. At the top of it was the word - 'Tsuki' - in big bold print. Below it, was a sketch of the symbol that I had seen.   
  
I read the passage aloud.   
  
"Tsuki: This symbol is often used by heavenly creatures to represent themselves. It is a symbol of being from Heaven, and is most commonly found somewhere on the body of these heavenly creatures - often tattooed directly onto the skin. These creatures include angels, archangels, and…"   
  
The last word was smudged, and I silently cursed Kuronue for reading the books while eating, as I knew he often did. He did just about everything while eating.   
  
But what was the last word…?   
  
"Ohayo, Kurama."   
  
I yelped and lost my balance on the chair, and I fell over in it. I groaned at the pain that went through my head, and looked up at her.   
  
She kneeled down beside me. "Daijobu ka, Kurama?"   
  
I propped myself up on my elbows, and glared at her. "Amaya, you scared the shit out of me."   
  
She smiled. "Gomen."   
  
She helped me stand, and I righted the chair.   
  
She picked up the book, and stared at it for a second. But princesses weren't taught to read, were they?   
  
"What are you doing here?" I asked, dusting myself off.   
  
She didn't reply.   
  
I waved a hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her daze and looked at me.   
  
"I said, 'What are you doing here'?" I repeated.   
  
"Oh! I'm here to tell you that dinner is ready." She replied, blushing slightly.   
  
I rolled my eyes. "You gave me a heart attack about that?"   
  
She smiled. "Sorry!"   
  
I started walking towards the door, and she followed me. The rest of the way to the dining hall was silent, and we eventually made it to the mess hall.   
  
I threw open the doors, and remembered that it was dinnertime after all, and therefore the mess hall was crammed full of youkai. My underlings.   
  
I started walking through the middle aisle, and she tried to keep up with me. I heard the calls from the demons at the tables. There were cries of 'ningen wench', 'witch', and various other very rude and insulting names.   
  
When we were right in front of the door to the kitchen, a youkai came up to us.   
  
"Youko-sama?"   
  
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, as I always did with those of lower rank. "What?"   
  
"Well, some of us are wondering why Noh, Kahn and Kin were killed." He said, looking slightly intimidated under my gaze. As it damn well should be.   
  
I glanced back at her. "For threatening her."   
  
The demon looked at her, disbelief in his eyes. She squirmed under his gaze.   
  
"Sir? For threatening a worthless ningen?" He asked, all humbleness aside.   
  
I whirled on him and picked the demon up by the throat. I crushed the demon's throat in a simple squeeze, and she threw her hands over her ears when the youkai's neck snapped like a twig.   
  
The dining hall fell silent, and all eyes were on us. I tossed the body away from me and turned back to face the hall.   
  
"Let that be a warning to you all: lay a finger on this girl, and you will face the same fate." I said in my loudest voice.   
  
She stared at me in shock. I then turned and opened the door, and she quickly went inside.   
  
Hiei and Kuronue were already there, eating. Kuronue was stuffing his face. We sat down across from them, and I served myself. She served herself as well, and Hiei spoke up.   
  
"Oi, kitsune, what took you so long?"   
  
I glared at him. I knew what he was implying, and I didn't appreciate it. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Hiei. I was reading, and we talked for a minute."   
  
"Coming from the King of Dirty Minds himself." Hiei retorted.   
  
I opened my mouth to make a smart remark, and realized that he was right. So, I could only glare at him.   
  
Suddenly, the door flung open and Amaya jumped in surprise. She put a hand over her chest, then looked up at the three demons that had entered the room. Two were large black onis, and the third squeezed between them was obviously a lower level demon.   
  
One oni said in a gruff voice, "Forgive our intrusion, my Lords. But this demon says that he had to deliver a message."   
  
I nodded. "Leave him here. You're dismissed."   
  
The onis nodded and left the room. The lower level demon turned to us. He was a scrawny little thing, with a rather large head. He had skin of light blue, and wore nothing more than a loincloth. He had a nearly bald head, with gnarled teeth. Pretty ugly, if you asked me.   
  
"I come with a message from my Lord. The demon Akira." He said in a raspy voice.   
  
Amaya tensed, and I growled. So, that bastard had found out where we were, huh?   
  
"What does he want?" Kuronue asked.   
  
"My Lord wishes for the maiden Amaya to be brought to him at the Takahashi Estate. My Lord says that she is not the property of you, and she needs to be returned. My Lord also says that if she is not returned by midnight, two nights from now, then he shall send forth his army to take her by force. The Takahashi army would also be sent forth." The demon said. "In essence, you have until two nights from now at midnight to fulfill my Lord's request for the return of the maiden Amaya."   
  
Amaya paled. I growled again, and summoned a plant, which shot up from the floor and swallowed the lower level demon whole.   
  
"Well, now what?" Kuronue asked.   
  
I glared. "What do you mean, 'now what'? We aren't going to hand over Amaya."   
  
"I'm all for giving her back." Hiei said. "It would solve all of _my_ problems."   
  
I glared at him as well. "Hiei! I'm telling you, we aren't going to hand Amaya over."   
  
"So what are we going to do? Go after him?" Kuronue asked.   
  
I smirked. "Precisely."   
  
She looked up at me in shock. "You can't! He's too powerful!" She protested.   
  
I looked over at her, slightly disappointed at the fact that she seemed to doubt my abilities. "Why are you underestimating me? I'm the King of Thieves, Youko Kurama!"   
  
She glared at me. "Because, I know that my father bragged of Akira's army - he said that he's taken down a clan of nine-tailed kitsune before. A whole clan!"   
  
Kuronue spoke up. "I've heard about that - it was all an exaggeration."   
  
"Either way, you can't go!" She said, shaking her head. "I'll just go - I don't want any of you hurt on my behalf."   
  
"Glad we agree on that subject." Hiei said, a sarcastic tone to his voice.   
  
I stood. "Listen, Amaya. I refuse to be submissive and hand you over to a demon that's only going to eat you anyways. You have to understand - it's mostly a pride thing."   
  
So what if it was a lie? I couldn't just tell her that the _real_ reason that I wasn't going to hand her over was because I cared.   
  
I cracked my knuckles. "Well, let's get to training, boys. We have a big fight coming up."   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes**: Yay! Yet another chapter down - and only a few more to go. I'm so sad! Still, there are two more stories after this one (true sequels - I'm not going to rewrite the story from Hiei and Kuronue's POV, because that would get very annoying).   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed!   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Gomen nasai, Nisha-chan, but my dad has strictly forbidden me from talking with people (IM) that he doesn't know personally. It's nothing against you - my dad's just a little too strict. Sorry! But we can still talk through e-mail and such.   
  
**Suzaku no miko** : More cuteness for you! But the real cuteness has yet to come! And ya gotta love Kuronue!! By the way, is your name from Fuushigi Yuugi?   
  
**Katie E. **: Yes, it is much more informative. I think that so far, the nosebleed part from Youko's POV is my favorite part because it's the funniest. LOL.   
  
**Kagome0102** :Thank you so much!!   
  
**UltaAnimeFangurl2004 **: Your dog married ice cream? LOL Is your dog named Hiei, by any chance?   
  
**Story Weaver1** : Yes, I wrote Amaya's story. I don't know why it wouldn't be on my bio. Well, here's the link for you anyways (remember to delete the spaces) :   
  
**Naoko-san** : Um, I know that now. I went onto another name thingy after that and saw that it also meant sun child. No need to bite my head off, okay? Well, thanks for the reviews anyways. 


	7. Blood And Battle

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 7   
  
~*~   
  
The rest of the day was spent training. Amaya seemed pretty upset at the fact that we were going to go into battle no matter what she said, and left. I didn't know where she had gone, but I assumed that after informing my men of the consequences of laying even one finger on her, I new that she would be fine by herself.   
  
We three discussed battle plans, and also about Akira's threat. Kuronue had thought that Akira was bluffing, and that he didn't have the necessary army to attack the lair, but Hiei and I disagreed.   
  
Hiei even suggested that we hand over Amaya so that there would be no battle, and Kuronue and I quickly shot down that idea.   
  
There was no way that I would ever let her go.   
  
~*~   
  
The next morning I awoke early, and saw that Amaya was still sound asleep. I flopped back onto the bed and wiped the sleep out of my eyes with a sigh.   
  
Was she really worth it?   
  
I thought about it for a minute, then cursed myself for even thinking about something like that. Of course she was worth fighting for.   
  
I got up and stretched, before changing my clothes. I knew that she was sound asleep, and that she wouldn't wake up while I was doing that. I then looked back at her sleeping form, looking so peaceful.   
  
I tore my eyes away from her and went to the training room, where Hiei and Kuronue were already sparring. I smirked at them in greeting.   
  
"Hey." I said.   
  
They both looked over at me, and nodded.   
  
Kuronue looked concerned. "So…how is Amaya taking all of this?"   
  
I shrugged. "She seemed upset, but we didn't talk. She was asleep already when I got back last night."   
  
Hiei snorted. "Let's just start training."   
  
I nodded, and we started our match.   
  
~*~   
  
We fought for a few hours, and eventually stopped for a break. We then picked up where we left off, and started in a match again. Hiei sliced at me with his katana, but I dodged it. Then, Hiei tried to hit Kuronue, who at the same time was trying to hit him with his scythe.   
  
The two weapons clashed, and Kuronue's scythe went flying.   
  
"Whoops!" He said.   
  
I noticed the familiar energy then.   
  
Amaya.   
  
I looked over, and saw the blade heading straight towards her. She looked surprised.   
  
"Amaya! Get down!" I exclaimed.   
  
She ducked down, with her hands over her head. The scythe lodged itself into the door behind her, right where her head had been a second before. Kuronue jogged over to her and gave her a scolding look. I was just relieved that she was okay.   
  
"Amaya! Kami-sama, what are you doing in here? It's dangerous!"   
  
She looked up at him, then stood, looking back at the door. She gulped.   
  
She gave him a guilty look. "Gomen nasai, Kuronue-kun."   
  
He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. I rubbed my temples.   
  
"Amaya, you need to stay away from us while we're training. You may not be so lucky next time." I said, not even looking at her. If I did, I knew that I'd get even angrier.   
  
She glared. "I can handle myself."   
  
I returned the look. "No, you can't." I was surprised when I saw that the bruise that had been on her forehead was gone. But how could that be? It shouldn't have healed for at least another week or so. So why was it suddenly gone…?   
  
She growled in frustration and turned on her heel. She pushed open the door and stopped once to glare back at me. She left then.   
  
I sighed. "Damn it, she could've gotten herself killed."   
  
Kuronue nodded. "Yeah."   
  
"Kuso. So close and yet so far." Hiei said.   
  
We glared at him, and he just chuckled.   
  
The rest of the day we trained even more. I was still upset about Amaya, so I was a little off while we trained. We didn't even go to bed until late that night.   
  
~*~   
  
Later that night, I was awoken by the sound of whimpering. I looked over, and saw that Amaya was the source of the noise. She was drenched in a cold sweat, and the crescent moon was glowing brightly on her forehead. Her eyes were squeezed shut with pain.   
  
"Amaya!" I called out in a hoarse whisper, trying to wake her up.   
  
Nothing.   
  
"Amaya!"   
  
She gasped and her eyes flew open. She looked bewildered and terrified, that is, until her eyes landed on me. She sat up, and she clutched her forehead.   
  
"Amaya, you were having a bad dream." I said sleepily. I calmed down slightly, seeing that she was awake now.   
  
Of course, then she started to cry. She brought her knees to her chest and sobbed, putting her face into her hands. This was greatly distressing, because I wanted her to stop, but I didn't know how.   
  
So I did what I thought would be most comforting. I reached out and pulled her into my embrace, and started stroking her hair slowly. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and cried into my chest. I rested my cheek on the top of her head, and wrapped my free arm around her waist.   
  
"It's okay, Amaya, it was only a dream. You're safe now." I whispered, gently rocking her back and forth. Her sobs turned to tears and sniffles, and I felt a relieved that she wasn't as upset.   
  
"Kurama, in my dream you- you-" She started.   
  
"Shh, it's fine. You're fine, and I'm fine." I said. I kept stroking her hair, and she relaxed into my embrace.   
  
Her tears stopped, and she sat up. "Gomen nasai, Kurama. I-"   
  
I put a finger to her lips to silence her. "It's okay. I told you that already."   
  
She sighed and wrapped her arms around my neck. I tensed, and gave her a questioning look.   
  
"Kurama, I don't want to lose you. You're all that I have left now. My only friend." She whispered.   
  
I didn't reply to that, and instead pulled her away from me. "Amaya, you should go to sleep."   
  
She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off.   
  
"I said you _should_. Just lay down, and try to get back to sleep."   
  
She laid back down, and I settled down as well. I had my back to her.   
  
She whimpered, and I sighed. I rolled over to face her.   
  
"You're being a child, Amaya." I whispered.   
  
I hugged her again, and let out a heavy sigh. I buried my face into her hair. She smelled good…like the night after a heavy rain.   
  
"Will you go to sleep now, Amaya?" I murmured, though it came out muffled by her locks.   
  
She nodded, and turned to bury her face into my chest. I fell asleep shortly after, my senses filled with her scent.   
  
~*~   
  
The next day was like a repetition of the day before - we trained while Amaya left to go to the library (that's what she told me, at least).   
  
When it was almost time for the three of us to leave, Amaya came out to say goodbye.   
  
We were all standing at the clearing before the lair, and we three were checking to make sure that we were well prepared for the battle.   
  
She clasped her hands together and looked down at her feet. She spoke up then.   
  
"Kurama, Kuronue-kun, Hiei?"   
  
We all looked over at her.   
  
She bit her lip. "I'd like to go with you."   
  
We all stared at her for a second, and Hiei snorted.   
  
"No. You'll only get under foot."   
  
"I promise that I won't!" She said, bringing her clasped hands over her heart.   
  
"Amaya, you'll get hurt. We can't guarantee your safety. We'll all be too busy fighting to save you when you need it." Kuronue said.   
  
She shook her head. "I won't get hurt! Besides, I can fend for myself! Give me a bow and arrow - the one thing that I ever mastered was archery! - and I can help you! To fight!" She exclaimed.   
  
I sighed. "Amaya…"   
  
She looked over at me, a pleading look in her eyes.   
  
"Forget it. You can't come." I said, looking over at her.   
  
"Give me a legitimate reason!" She said, putting a hand on her hip. "I can fight, so you don't need to worry about saving me. And I won't get under foot."   
  
I kept firm in my resolve. "That may be, but I want you to stay here."   
  
She glared. "Why? Huh? Give me a _real_ reason."   
  
I walked over to her. "Because this way, I _know_ that you'll stay safe."   
  
"Kurama, please, I'll be fine if I come with you!" She protested.   
  
I pulled her into a tight hug, putting my face into her hair. She seemed shocked, but I wanted her to know how much I wanted her to stay here.   
  
"Kurama…?"   
  
"Amaya, stay here. I want to make sure that you stay safe. If you come, you'll only be giving Akira what he wants. You."   
  
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.   
  
"He's a demon, and demons will do _anything _ to get what they want. And right now he wants you. Wants you enough to threaten the great _Youko Kurama_." I pulled away, and she stared at me. "So, you can be fighting him just by staying here. By not giving him what he wants."   
  
She nodded and looked down.   
  
I turned back towards Kuronue and Hiei, and smirked. "Right! Let's go!"   
  
We started dashing away, towards the Takahashi Estate. I could see the moonlight shining down on us through the canopy of leaves overhead.   
  
It only took us about five minutes to make it to the place, and we were greeted by an entire army of samurai. Kuronue smirked, and drew his scythe.   
  
"Kurama, you go ahead and find Akira. Bring him down, and then let us know. We'll take care of the so-called army." He said.   
  
I nodded, and turned around, reaching out my senses to find that bastard. I then looked towards a hill, which is where I sensed his energy coming from.   
  
Hiei and Kuronue started fighting the samurai, and I rushed past them towards the hill, making it up to the top in a matter of seconds.   
  
I glared when I saw Akira standing in the middle of the clearing there.   
  
"Ah, Youko Kurama." He chuckled. "I see that you have not brought me my maiden."   
  
"Hell no." I said. "She's safe, and out of your reach."   
  
He growled. "Damn you! Why can't you just hand her over? What good is she to you, anyways?"   
  
"That's none of your concern." I replied. "Now draw you weapon so that we can fight."   
  
He drew a katana, and smirked evilly. He dived at me, and I dodged, but still managed to get a cut on my side. He was pretty fast for a fat old man.   
  
"Jaou Ensatsu Koko Ryu Ha!" I heard Hiei exclaim. The purple dragons from the deepest reaches of Makai were summoned, effectively killing about a third of the army below.   
  
Akira and I started fighting, as fast as we could. I was hit several times in the stomach, arms, and chest. I managed to hit him an equal amount of times.   
  
A sword thrust, a dodge, and then a gash from my plants. Our battle consisted of mostly short, quick blows - yet ones that inflicted heavy damage on the both of us.   
  
I'm not sure how long we were fighting for, or how much damage we received. All I could remember was the adrenaline pumping through me, and the thrill of battle.   
  
This was my first battle that ever had a purpose.   
  
And that purpose was Amaya.   
  
I faintly heard Hiei call the name of his attack again, but that was the least of my worries. My body must have lost quite a bit of blood, because I was starting to feel sluggish.   
  
I also heard the screams of the rest of the people, meaning that the army was demolished.   
  
That was good, because I was beginning to feel a little tired. Hiei and Kuronue could take over from here, I felt…sleepy, almost.   
  
Akira cursed when he realized what I just had. He was a good ten feet away, and he twirled his katana, before dashing toward me like a crazed fool.   
  
He looked like he was going for my right shoulder, so I blocked there. However, that was not his real intention.   
  
I heard Amaya scream my name.   
  
I looked back over my shoulder, confused. Why was she screaming? I was okay…   
  
"Amaya…" I felt some blood spill out of my mouth.   
  
_I'm fine! What are you crying about…?   
  
Why do you look like you're in pain?   
  
Why does my chest ache like this?_   
  
Suddenly, Akira pulled his sword out of my chest, and I cried out.   
  
I fell back onto the ground, and I felt numb.   
  
What was this feeling?   
  
So much red…so much blood.   
  
Was it…all mine?   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes **: T___T I still feel sad when writing this part. Waahhh!!   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed!   
  
**Story Weaver1** : That was my favorite part! Youko's so protective of her. ^____^   
  
**Suzaku no miko** : Yup! I love Chobits! And I really like Kuronue in this story. He's probably my second favorite next to Amaya and Youko.   
  
**miyako14** : Here you go! Have you read Amaya's story yet?   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Okay. i'll e-mail you sometime then! Thanks for the review! 


	8. Aftermath Of The Battle

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 8   
  
~*~   
  
What was happening?   
  
I was standing there, looking down at my own body, and Amaya sobbing over it. Damn, I was a mess!   
  
Blood everywhere, and Amaya pressing her cheek to my chest.   
  
What was she doing? I was standing right here!   
  
Then who was the guy that she had her cheek on?   
  
I gently reached out, and tried to wipe her tears away.   
  
But my hand went right through her.   
  
My eyes widened. Why had...?   
  
"Kurama, you can't leave me!" Amaya said in a hoarse whisper.   
  
"I'm right here!" I yelled.   
  
Nothing.   
  
A presence appeared behind me, and I turned around. A woman was standing there. She had a black kimono with a red obi on, and she had straight black hair as well. Her eyes were dark blue, and her face was emotionless.   
  
"Are you ready to go now?" She asked.   
  
"What?" I replied. I growled. "I'm not going anywhere! Who are you, anyways?!"   
  
"Atashi wa Ayame." She said calmly. "I am from Reikai, and I am here to take you there."   
  
"So…I'm dead?"   
  
She nodded.   
  
I smirked, and put a hand on my hip. "I'm not going anywhere, little girl. So you even realize who it is that you're talking to?"   
  
"You are Youko Kurama." She pulled out a little book, and I wondered what it was.   
  
"It says that you are a kitsune, a thief, and that you've killed hundreds of innocent people. You're also a known womanizer, and-"   
  
"Okay, okay, I get the point."   
  
I could hear Amaya sobbing behind me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her.   
  
"Amaya…" I heard Kuronue say.   
  
"Kuronue, he _can't_ be dead." She whispered.   
  
Hiei growled. "Damn it, onna! The fox is dead, and there isn't anything that you can do about it!"   
  
I was surprised at the anger in his voice, and at the overwhelming emotions coming from them all.   
  
"Kurama…Kurama, please. Come back." I heard her whisper again.   
  
I looked back towards them one last time, and blinked in surprise.   
  
Amaya's hands were glowing with a silvery light, and the cuts all over my body were closing up.   
  
"Kurama, come back. Please, come back." Amaya repeated. I felt something tugging at my body - well, my soul.   
  
Ayame seemed surprised at this. "H-How can this be?"   
  
I didn't reply, and instead looked down at my 'hands'. They were flickering and becoming see-through.   
  
My real body started to glow with silver light, and I felt the tugging again.   
  
Suddenly, I couldn't see anything. I could feel Amaya's hands gripping the front of my shirt. My fingers twitched, and my eyes opened. I looked up at her.   
  
"Amaya?"   
  
"Kurama!" She threw her arms around me, and I tensed. My body still ached slightly, and she was hurting me with her hug.   
  
"But…I was _dead_." I said quietly before pulling away from her.   
  
She looked hurt. "Kurama, who cares _how_ it happened, as long as it did?" She said, before smiling. "You're alive…this is a blessing from Kami-sama!"   
  
She threw her arms around me again, and started crying again.   
  
"Amaya."   
  
She pulled away and looked at me. She looked confused.   
  
"I shouldn't be here. I'm supposed to be dead." I said firmly. I knew that this wasn't right. I had _wanted_ to be alive, sure, but I wasn't _supposed_ to be.   
  
Kuronue gave us an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I say that we get back home."   
  
She stood and walked over to the edge of the hill. She seemed angry, but it was true. I wasn't supposed to be here.   
  
"The baka is right." Hiei said. "We need to get back home to take care of our wounds." He looked me up and down before adding, "Though it seems that Amaya has taken care of that for you, kitsune."   
  
She turned around to face us. "I didn't do anything! My hands just glowed, and then he started to glow! I told you that Kami-sama was the one that did this!" She said, holding up her hands for emphasis.   
  
I sighed. "He's right. Let's get back home. We can talk about this later."   
  
~*~   
  
It took us a while to get back home, because of Kuronue's wing, but we made it by dawn. Of course, by then, all of us were exhausted. I made sure that Hiei and Kuronue were treated for their wounds (apparently they had a healer there) while Amaya and I went back to the bedroom.   
  
She seemed angry at me, but I didn't care. What I was concerned about was how she brought me back to life.   
  
I didn't say anything more about the matter. I just started changing out of my bloody clothes, and she quickly turned around.   
  
I chuckled. "Amaya, I've seen _you_ naked, so why shouldn't you see _me_?"   
  
"Because that's disgusting. I don't _want_ to see you naked."   
  
I was quiet for a minute before I told her that it was okay for her to turn around. I had changed into a clean pair of pants, but I wore no shirt. I held the bundle of bloody laundry in my hand.   
  
She stared at me, and I raised an eyebrow at her.   
  
Hell, I hadn't teased her in a while. Why not?   
  
I smirked at her. "Bet you never had a dream quite so good as _this_, huh, Amaya?"   
  
She glared. "I told you before - I would never dream of you in _that_ kind of way."   
  
I shrugged. "Denial." I looked over at her, realizing just now what she was wearing. "And what exactly is up with your outfit?"   
  
She blushed. "Oh! One of the female thieves, Leiko, let me have it. I think it's a bit too revealing."   
  
I let my eyes trail over her body. It was a nice outfit, and it fit her perfectly. A sleeveless black shirt with a low neckline, which stopped right below her breasts. She also wore baggy black pants that were secured above her ankles. It definately sjowed off her figure, which was a major plus. "No. It looks good on you."   
  
She blushed again.   
  
"Amaya…"   
  
"Hm?"   
  
"Did I ever…thank you?" I asked awkwardly.   
  
"Thank me? For what?" She said, obviously confused.   
  
"For…reviving me." I said, looking anywhere but at her.   
  
She smiled. "I told you that I didn't do that. I couldn't have. I'm _human_, remember?"   
  
I looked over at her and sighed. "Right. I forgot. Now come on and get changed so we can go to bed."   
  
She looked down at her feet, and I rolled my eyes.   
  
"Fine, fine. I'll get out." I said, walking past her and out the door. "Nothin' that I haven't seen before." I grumbled as I went past.   
  
A minute or so later, she called me back in. She wore her usual yukata, and I was slightly disappointed at that. We got into the futon, and I laid on my side with my back to her. She suddenly reached out and hugged me from behind, pressing her cheek to my back. I tensed, but she didn't let me go.   
  
"Kurama…I'm glad that you're okay." She whispered.   
  
I rolled over and faced her in the darkness. "I am too." I whispered back.   
  
I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her even closer to me, and she relaxed into his embrace.   
  
I decided that now was perfect.   
  
I kissed her, in a way that was much to chaste for my liking. But I didn't want to scare her.   
  
She seemed shocked at this, and I pulled away. I rested my forehead against hers, and started tracing the outline of her lips.   
  
"Amaya…you know that I care about you, right?" I said.   
  
I tilted her face up towards mine, and kissed her again, a bit more fiercely. She put her hand behind my head and pulled me to her. I slipped my tongue into her mouth, which seemed to surprise her. I let my tongue wander, and I could hear her whimper slightly. She tasted sweeter than I had imagined that she would. I could feel the lust growing, but I tried to subdue it. If she hadn't pulled away, then I probably would've taken it a step further. She was gasping for breath and I was panting lightly as well.   
  
She smiled at me through the darkness. "Kurama-kun, we should probably get some sleep."   
  
I sighed. I had been hoping for something more tonight…   
  
"Fine."   
  
She pressed her cheek to my chest, and I put my arms around her waist. We fell asleep like that, and I felt satisfied that I had least gotten a kiss.   
  
~*~   
  
The next morning (technically it was evening - we had gotten back at dawn, and had slept through the entire day) I tried to get Amaya up. However, every time that I got her to wake, she would fall back asleep again. I sighed, and instead tucked the covers up around her, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before heading back to the library.   
  
There, I started trying to find an explanation for what had happened. I started with a book on death, and found no explanation there. Hiei and Kuronue joined me towards noon, and helped me look for the information.   
  
We searched all that day, and discovered something odd.   
  
Tennyos…   
  
Amaya fit the description.   
  
And tennyos were heavenly creatures, so that would explain the crescent moon.   
  
~*~   
  
Amaya slept for two full days, and all we could do was wait until she had enough energy to stay awake. I figured that after reviving me, almost all of her ki would have been used up.   
  
So when Kuronue finally woke her up, I was eager to talk to her. He brought her into the library where Hiei and I were already waiting.   
  
She still looked drowsy, and I wanted to let her go back to bed, but this was incredibly important.   
  
She slowly walked towards us (we were sitting at the table towards the back with our feet propped up on it), with a nervous look.   
  
She smiled awkwardly, and avoided eye contact with me. So, she looked to Hiei instead.   
  
"Hiei, you seem a lot better now. How are you feeling?" She asked.   
  
"Hn."   
  
This was just ridiculous. She was completely ignoring me!   
  
"Amaya…we need to talk." I said. She looked over at me, a scared look in her eyes.   
  
"We think that we may have found an explanation as to what happened." Hiei said.   
  
"What…happened?" She repeated.   
  
"My revival." I said. "From two days ago."   
  
"Two _days_? Have I been asleep that long?" She asked. She seemed surprised about that.   
  
I nodded. "Yeah. For about that long."   
  
"Kitsune, get to the point." Hiei snorted.   
  
"Right, right. Relax, Hiei." I said, glaring at him. I then turned back to her. "Amaya…we have reason to believe that you may not be entirely human."   
  
"What do you mean, 'not human'?" She asked, obviously confused.   
  
Kuronue spoke up. "While you were sleeping, Kurama here tried to find an explanation to what happened. He stumbled onto a book about-"   
  
Hiei cut him off. "Tennyos."   
  
"Tennyo?" She repeated.   
  
"Celestial maidens, heavenly maidens, they have many names that mean pretty much the same thing." I explained.   
  
"So you think that…I'm a tennyo?" She asked.   
  
I nodded and pointed to the book laying on the table, closed. _Heavenly Creatures_. She looked over at it.   
  
"All the signs, everything, was in there." I said.   
  
"Like…what?" She asked quietly.   
  
"Well, there was the clairvoyance." Hiei said.   
  
She looked over at him. "What?"   
  
"Seeing the future." Kuronue said. "You did have a dream about Kurama getting killed, right?"   
  
She nodded.   
  
"And then there was mental dominance." Hiei said.   
  
I knew that she wouldn't know what that meant, so I went ahead and explained it before she could ask. "That means that you can give people a little push so that they do what you want them to. You used it on Hiei when you made him eat your food, and on Kuronue when you asked him where I was."   
  
"Also, tennyos can heal at incredibly high speeds. Faster than demons." Kuronue said. "That's why your bruise was gone even before Kurama's was."   
  
"And lastly, healing powers." I said. "You healed my body after I died, which made it able to house my soul again. And apparently, you also have enough power to pull a soul back from limbo into the living world."   
  
"You mean…that glowing light…was coming from me?" She asked.   
  
I nodded, then smirked. "Oh yeah, and have you heard about the legends?"   
  
She shook her head.   
  
"Heavenly maidens are also supposed to be incredibly beautiful. You fit that description as well."   
  
She blushed, and looked down at her feet. "H-How is that in a legend?"   
  
"The legend of the celestial maiden is of a fisherman. It varies from story to story, but the fisherman finds three really beautiful women bathing in a spring. He realizes that they're tennyos and takes one of their heavenly robes, which allow them to travel back to heaven - which, by the way, happens to be represented by the moon. He shows himself, and two of the maidens fly away, leaving one in the spring. He takes her home to be his bride, they have a few kids, she learns where the robe is, and she flies back to heaven leaving the man all alone - just like a typical woman." Kuronue said.   
  
She glared at him and folded her arms over her chest. "I still don't see how all of these coincidences make me a celestial maiden."   
  
"Face it, onna. You're a tennyo." Hiei said.   
  
Kuronue stretched. "Well, my part's done, so I'm going to go get me some breakfast."   
  
Hiei got up as well. "Wait for me, you oaf. I'm sure as hell not going to eat that crappy tofu again."   
  
They left the room, leaving Amaya and I alone. She sighed and sat down across from me, running a hand through her hair. We were both silent for a few minutes. She seemed to be upset, so I decided to ask her.   
  
"Are you okay?"   
  
She glared at me. "Well, Kuronue woke me up from a very nice dream to find out that I'm not human. Oh yeah, I'm just perfect."   
  
I smirked playfully. "Another dream, Amaya? About what?"   
  
She rolled her sea-green eyes. "I swear! Will you ever stop being such a hentai?!"   
  
I chuckled. "Probably not."   
  
She smiled, but stopped when her stomach rumbled loudly.   
  
I smirked at her. "Will you ever stop being hungry?"   
  
She stood and put her hands on her hips, giving me a playful glare. "Probably not."   
  
I started to stand, when suddenly she said, "Oh!"   
  
I looked over at her. "What?"   
  
She was silent for a minute - perhaps thinking - then said, "Kurama, the other day…after the whole scythe incident, I kind of…" She drifted off.   
  
"Kind of what?" I asked.   
  
"Um, well, I had seen that you were reading a book, and I wanted to know what it had been so I…came back here and read that page. The page about the tsuki." She said, wringing her hands.   
  
I waited for her to continue.   
  
"Well, I was wondering…you didn't know that I was a tennyo before, so why were you reading that?" She asked.   
  
"Mainly because of the fact that you had been having dreams about the moon. Also, because the time that you made Hiei eat your food, a very faint symbol appeared on your forehead." I pointed to my forehead to emphasis my point. "And it was the same symbol that was on that page. A crescent moon."   
  
She nodded. "But why would that appear on my forehead?"   
  
"Probably because it's a symbol of your powers or something." I shrugged. "I don't know everything."   
  
"Oh."   
  
"Let's stop talking about this tennyo thing and get some breakfast." I said. "I'm hungry too."   
  
She smiled, and we walked to breakfast together.   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes**: T___T The next chapter is the last, sadly. *sigh*   
  
There is also another story after this, and yet another one after that. It's a quartet. ^___^   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed!   
  
**miyako14** : Amaya's story is the first story in this series. It's basically the same story as this, only Amaya is telling it. It explains some things that this one doesn't. You really should read it. Otherwise, some things in this fic won't make sense.   
  
**Story Weaver1** : Youko was a little MORE than hurt. He was DEAD. She technically already is a heavenly being, so there won't be any transforming. But, her powers do start to awaken. It goes more into that in the second story (which I'll be posting soon!).   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Nisha-chan, thanks for the review!!   
  
**Katie E.** : Yeah, he gets a little confused about that. Like, he thinks that he may be dead, but denial kicks in, and he gets really really confused again. Poor Youko.   
  
**Suzaku no miko** : There you go! Don't worry, he's okay now!!   
  
  
  
  
**_REVIEW!!!!!!!!_**


	9. Final Battle

Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story   
  
Chapter 9   
  
~*~   
  
When Amaya and I arrived at the kitchen, Hiei and Kuronue were already eating. A nice meal of eggs, rice, miso soup, and even some tofu had been served. We sat down on the cushions across from the two, and she served me and then herself. We started eating in silence until Kuronue asked the question that we had all been wondering.   
  
"Whatever happened to Akira?"   
  
She stopped eating, and set down her chopsticks. "Didn't you see? He ran away after…after Kurama was killed." She said quietly.   
  
Kuronue looked surprised. "Oh. That's right. I'd forgotten about that."   
  
I looked up from my meal. "What are we going to do about him?"   
  
She snorted. "Nothing. He ran away - he wouldn't dare to fight us again."   
  
"Baka." Hiei said. "He will try to attack again, after he's gathered more followers and more power. We may not be able to defeat him then. We need to take the initiative, and track him down. Then, we kill him."   
  
"We don't need to kill him, do we?" She asked. She looked hopeful, as though she didn't want us to fight.   
  
"I need to kill somebody soon, to satisfy my bloodlust. Otherwise, I'm going to kill the next person on my hit list." Hiei looked pointedly at Amaya as he said this.   
  
"Um, would that be Kuronue?" She said nervously.   
  
"Hey!" The chimera protested.   
  
Hiei smirked at him. "No. He's about fifth on my list. For being so damn annoying."   
  
He glared at Hiei.   
  
I thought about it for a minute. If we didn't kill Akira, he would try to take Amaya again. And this time, he may resort to hurting her. I couldn't have that.   
  
"Hiei's right." I said.   
  
"What?!" Kuronue exclaimed.   
  
I rolled my eyes. "Not about the annoying thing, Kuronue! About the fact that Akira will regroup and try to take Amaya again when he's strong enough."   
  
She spoke up. "But even if we do want to fight him, how will we find him?"   
  
Hiei smirked again. "Baka onna. I have a way to find him."   
  
Amaya looked confused, and Hiei pulled off his bandana, revealing his jagan. She gasped, and backed away slightly.   
  
"Wh-what is that?!" She exclaimed.   
  
"My jagan eye. I can use it to find anything that I want to." Hiei said, putting the bandana back on. "Including Akira."   
  
She nodded, and started to slowly eat her fried eggs.   
  
"So, when do you guys want to go fight him?" Kuronue asked.   
  
"After we're done eating." I replied. "I want to kill him as soon as possible."   
  
She looked surprised, most likely because of the anger in my voice. Like hell I was going to let anyone hurt Amaya!   
  
We all finished our meal, each of us thinking about the upcoming battle.   
  
~*~   
  
After breakfast, Amaya went into my room and changed. I waited outside for her, and she eventually came out in her outfit from the day before.   
  
Kami-sama, I loved that outfit on her.   
  
She smiled at me, which meant that she probably had no idea what I was thinking about her. "This time, I'm not going to let you guys leave me here. Who knows when you might need to be healed."   
  
I rolled my eyes. "Amaya, must you keep pointing that out?"   
  
She kept smiling at me. "I like to think about the fact that you needed me."   
  
I was confused. What was she talking about? "I do need you."   
  
She looked down at her feet. "It doesn't feel that way."   
  
I gently tilted her face up to look at me. She looked upset, almost like she was going to cry. "Why not?"   
  
"Because I have no use at all. I'm just…_here_." She said. "And you've been acting as if nothing happened after you kissed me. Did it even mean _anything_ to you?"   
  
Ha! Mean anything? It meant everything!   
  
I leaned down and gently kissed her. I then pulled away by a mere inch.   
  
"It did. I just didn't know what to think after _you_ pulled away like that. I didn't know if you were suddenly having second doubts, or if you just didn't like kissing me."   
  
"No! That wasn't it! It was just…" She looked like she was looking for the right words. "It was a little…_too_ passionate. Do you know what I mean?"   
  
Too passionate? Well, that was a first. Normally, women wanted me to kiss them like that. Then again, was Amaya really that normal compared to other girls…?   
  
"Kurama?"   
  
I snapped out of my daze. "Sorry."   
  
"For?"   
  
"For spacing out and for making it too passionate for you."   
  
I kissed her again, and tensed when I sensed a familiar presence behind us.   
  
"Uh…did I miss something, guys?" Kuronue asked.   
  
She turned around, while I remained still. Kuronue was standing there, with Hiei next to him. The former looked a little surprised, and the latter bore an amused smirk.   
  
"Looks like we've interrupted them, Kuronue." Hiei said. "Shall we come back in about, oh say, three hours, kitsune?"   
  
I growled, and straightened.   
  
"Hiei, do you want to die?" I asked angrily.   
  
The koorime smirked. "Really, it's no problem. We can go fight Akira ourselves."   
  
She glared. "Like you could ever get a girl, Hiei." She smirked and put a hand on her hip.   
  
That was part of the reason that I loved her. She could burn Hiei so badly sometimes!   
  
Kuronue started snickering, and Hiei growled.   
  
"Hold your tongue, onna. Even if you _are_ a tennyo, you can still die."   
  
"Let's just go, okay?" She said. She didn't seem worried at all.   
  
Hiei turned on his heel and started walking down the hall, seemingly eager to get away from us. We three followed him, and she fell into stride between Kuronue and I.   
  
The raven-haired youkai scratched the back of his head. "So…how long have you guys, uh, been, you know…_together_?"   
  
"Since he was revived." She said. "So about three days."   
  
"Oh…you were planning on letting me know soon, right?" He asked.   
  
"No." I said. Like hell I was going to tell him!   
  
At the same time, Amaya smiled and said, "Yes."   
  
She looked over at me, and I shrugged.   
  
"And have him tease me till the day I die? Well, _really_ die anyways." I said. "No thanks."   
  
She looked over at him. "You'd tease him?"   
  
He shrugged. "It's what guys do. It has nothing to do with you though - you're by far the best girl that he's ever been with. And so far, the only girl that _hasn't_ been an obnoxious bitch."   
  
She seemed slightly surprised. "Um, thank you, I guess."   
  
We walked up the stairs, and into the clearing, where Hiei was waiting impatiently.   
  
"Hurry up. I found him." He said.   
  
"You…don't expect me to travel at the same speed as you guys, do you?" Amaya asked tentatively.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Kuronue asked.   
  
"When I followed you to battle, I had to go through these woods. I ended up scratching myself pretty badly."   
  
Hiei snorted. "Figures."   
  
"Well, let's just get going before he moves." Kuronue said, starting to dash off into the woods. Hiei followed him.   
  
She opened her mouth to say something, but I scooped her up into m arms before she could. I started dashing after Kuronue and Hiei, and she buried her face into my chest and tightened her grip on my shirt. I chuckled.   
  
We ran on for about five more minutes, following Hiei as he ran to the place that Akira was hiding. He eventually stopped in a clearing, and we all stopped behind him. Amaya peeked out, and tensed when she saw Akira standing in the middle of the clearing. I set her down. The demon chuckled, and said, "I'm surprised that you're alive, Kurama." He slowly turned back to look at us, a hideous smirk on his face. Amaya seemed shocked, and I knew why. His eyes had turned to gold, and his pupils were now narrow slits.   
  
Snake's eyes.   
  
"I didn't realize how far the little witch's powers had progressed." He continued.   
  
I wanted to kill him so badly.   
  
"We're here to fight." Hiei interrupted. "So don't hold back. Show us your true form."   
  
Akira's smirk turned to a grin, his pale lips curving up over two canines, which were steadily growing longer and sharper - like the fangs of a serpent. His body started to glow and his aura pulsed lightly, before the clearing was engulfed in light, and we all covered our eyes.   
  
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't at all surprised by the transformation. Akira was, of course, a snake demon, and thus when he transformed into his true demonic form, he looked like a gigantic serpent. Just the same way that my 'true demonic form' was that of a white fox.   
  
He was a dark, the color of a starless midnight, that same pitch black. He was that solid color, with the exception of his underbelly, which looked more like the color of blood. He had a cobra's hood as well.   
  
I smirked. "So, Kuronue, Hiei, are you ready?"   
  
They nodded and started to fight the giant snake.   
  
Amaya grabbed onto my arm as I started to turn away, and I gave her a quizzical look.   
  
"Kurama! What about me? I can fight too!"   
  
"Amaya, you need to stay back for this fight. When I tell you to, shoot him in the heart with an arrow." I said.   
  
She glared. "You're bossing me around! I don't appreciate-"   
  
"Look, you wouldn't be able to keep up with a demon's pace anyways!" I exclaimed. I pointed my finger at the fight between my two friends and Akira. Her eyes widened, and I sighed.   
  
"You see now? Just do this, and you'll be doing the most important part of the battle. Killing Akira." I said.   
  
She looked back at me, and closed her dropped jaw. "Fine." She let go of my arm, and I turned and dashed off to join the others in battle.   
  
Kuronue and Hiei were busy slashing away at the snake. I joined in and summoned my rosewhip to fight as well. We fought for a few minutes, and each of us got slightly damaged by snakebites and such. We stopped fighting, because Akira was bleeding heavily. Which meant that it was Amaya's turn.   
  
"Now!" I exclaimed while we tried to keep Akira from running away or attacking us.   
  
Amaya drew her bow, and stood there for a moment. I wondered what was taking her so long to shoot, when I realized that Akira was a moving target, and therefore it was hard to aim for her. She let her arrow fly a minute later, and it was true. It hit Akira in the heart.   
  
The serpent cried out in pain, and it sounded like both a screaming child, a hiss, and a shriek all at the same time. He twisted about for a minute, trying to get the arrow out of his chest. He wriggled about and fell onto the ground and his golden eyes rolled into the back of his skull. Blood covered most of his body, and dripped freely from his mouth.   
  
He was _clearly_ dead.   
  
Serves him right for trying to hurt Amaya.   
  
Kuronue ran over to her and pulled her into his arms and gave her a twirl.   
  
"Amaya, you did it!" He exclaimed.   
  
She smiled, and Kuronue set her down after hearing my loud growl.   
  
"You guys did most of the work." She said. "I merely shot him with a puny arrow! I shouldn't get any credit for this at all."   
  
"Damn straight." Hiei snorted, folding his arms across his chest.   
  
I glared at him. "Hiei, you knew that the only way to pierce his heart was with a magically charged arrow. And you also knew that piercing his heart was the only way to kill a demon from his class."   
  
She seemed surprised, and Hiei glared at me.   
  
"Right. Whatever."   
  
She smiled at me. "Is that true, Kurama-kun?"   
  
I nodded, and walked over to her. I pulled her into my arms and smirked at her. "Very true."   
  
I leaned forward to kiss her, but Hiei cleared his throat before I could indulge in her sweet taste. I glared at him.   
  
"What?"   
  
Hiei got an arrogant smirk on his face. "Suck face when we get home. We don't have time to wait for you two."   
  
She blushed, and I growled.   
  
Kuronue sighed. "Hiei…"   
  
"What? It's only true." The koorime said. "If we let them suck face right here and now, we may not get home until nightfall."   
  
He turned away and said over his shoulder. "I'm going now." He started to dash back towards the lair, and Kuronue ran after him, calling for the former to wait.   
  
That left only Amaya and I by ourselves in the clearing. She took a step away from me and looked back at Akira's body.   
  
I watched her as she seemed to be reminiscing, and I did as well.   
  
She had changed my life greatly over the last few days. She had made me softer (perhaps a little more than I cared to be), and had become a friend and a lover.   
  
She had even melted some of the ice surrounding Hiei's heart, and I knew that she had stolen Kuronue's as well.   
  
And she was just one little girl…   
  
_No, not little. _I mentally corrected myself. _She is far from being little…_   
  
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.   
  
"What are you thinking about, Amaya?" I asked.   
  
"Everything." Was her quiet reply.   
  
Everything, huh? Well, I had been thinking about exactly the same thing. I let go of her.   
  
"Well, are you ready to go home?" I asked instead.   
  
She turned to face me, and seemed to realize something.   
  
"Yes." She said, smiling at me. "I'm ready to go home."   
  
They say home is where the heart is.   
  
I guess that means that my home will always be where Amaya is.   
  
  
  
~*~   
  
**Author's Notes**: That's it! The end of _Kokoro No Kaitou : Youko's Story_. There are two more stories after this, so watch out for them! Oh, and I'm sorry if Youko seemed a little OOC just now. I swear, he'll be back to his bad-ass self in the next story.   
  
Is everyone getting bored with this series? It seems like nobidy really wants to review anymore. *sniffle* I feel so unloved!   
  
By the way, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to suggest that you read the stroies that my friends posted : Heart of Atlantis, by LuckySpirit, and the untitled story by Kaze Tsukai. It'd be so cool if you reviewed their stories!!   
  
And the last thing, I'll be posting the next story of this series soon - that is, if you're all still interested in it. Let me know if you are, okay? (And yes, it is an entirely new story - it's not this same plot from another character's point of view). It doesn't have a title yet, though. I'm workin' on it. LOL.   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter!   
  
**miyako14** : Thanks for the review!   
  
**DarkVixenNisha** : Thanks for the review, Nisha-chan! 


End file.
